Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain - The Lost Episodes (New Version)
by Revanite201
Summary: The truth behind his role as "Big Boss" and Quiet's absence pushed the Diamond Dogs' commander over the edge. Only one person may be able to pull him back before more chaos in Biological Warfare and Bipedal Weapons terrorize the East. Will the Punished flower find his missing butterfly before Outer Heaven changes the world forever? Rated M DISCONTINUED
1. Chapter 1

**_WARNING! This contains Spoilers!_**

 ** _DISCLAIMER: The Metal Gear Franchise are all owned by Hideo Kojima!_**

 ** _P.S: Fuck Konami!_**

 **Metal Gear Solid V:** **The Phantom Pain** **  
** **The Lost Episode**

Chapter 1  
"Kingdom of The Flies"

 _"I did not choose to be Quiet… I wanted to express my feelings to you. If only we Shared a Common Tongue. Vengeance was what drove me to them… the only language left to me, revenge. But the words we shared… no, that was no language at all. That is why… I chose the language of gratitude_ instead _and go back to silence. I am Quiet. I am… the absence of words."_

Venom Snake rewound and listened to the tape for over an hour on the ride back to the Seychelles Waters. He simply listened to her small and gentle voice, recorded behind all the static and the harsh sand storms of Afghanistan. His face was blank as always, covered in blood and grime, dark circles around his eyes, every muscle in his body ached from the battle against the armored division of the Soviet Guards Airborne Regiment. The impact force from a couple of shells from the Soviet tanks did a number on him and his back wasn't doing too well as a result. It felt like he was dying a thousand times over just to get through the third wave like some sick twisted game.

It wasn't something he couldn't withstand even for someone in his status, however, the effects from the snake bite and the anti-venom were making him hazy. The sand was in every inch of his fatigues that much he was used to since first arriving in Afghanistan except for the spitting out a grain once in awhile even during his meals and water breaks there was a taste of sand. The phantom pain in his left hand didn't make things better either, no matter how much he rubbed his bionic hand the pain never ceased. What he felt inside, however, was sadness by Quiet's departure and knowing that she was out there alone dying from the Vocal Cord Parasites. His bionic hand then clenched tight as anger fell on his shoulders reflecting how they first met many months ago in Cyprus, then in Afghanistan, even as going far to remembering that day sharing a tender moment together in the rain back at Mother Base.

 _'But I'm not Big Boss, just his phantom. A reflection of the Legendary Soldier, my leader, my friend.'_ Snake looked at the wall of pictures to his right. Memories of the MSF Mother Base, he picked the picture of him, Big Boss, Miller, and Morpho. The crease in the picture to where he had folded the image of himself over was still there. Before learning the truth every time he looked at that frozen picture of the silver-haired combat medic made a searing hot pain go through his brain, a face so familiar, and the message on the back; _"Good Luck Adrian Zhdanov - Vic Boss."_ That name and the face on the picture were a stranger, taking the mantle as Big Boss while the real Big Boss was securing his heaven.

 _Outer Heaven._

Snake looked at his reflection in the window. He shaved, cut his hair down to the scalp and his natural platinum blonde was settling in. All that was left was the shaved down piece of shrapnel in his forehead. He looked less like Big Boss and more like the man in the picture, the best damn combat medic MSF had to offer who took over 108 shards of hot shrapnel consisting of Paz's teeth and bone, and the fragments of the explosives implanted in her for his Commander that faithful day nine years ago. Now Quiet got to see his real face, behind the face he was forced to wear. Did he do it for her? To make her see the man he really was?

"Boss! We're home!" Out called the Diamond Dog soldier as he hopped out of the cabin with the others.

They had already touched down on Mother Base. Snake didn't even realize it at first and he was always ready to hop out when arriving at his drop points, even when coming to Mother Base. Pequod still sat in the pilot seat maintaining the controls with a somber look of his own upon his face. Snake reached over and clasped Pequod's shoulder to which he gave a firm nod in return, the thought of leaving Quiet behind had impacted him too. The entire time Diamond Dogs were established, Snake, Pequod, DD, and Quiet were closer to each other than anyone else on the base.

Pequod would always give her a smile when Quiet would peek over at the controls and DD seemed to like her a lot as they always seemed to connect with each other like DD did with Snake. Here and there were nice conversations between the three of them during their rides, even though Quiet wasn't able to speak she felt like she was part of the conversation. Snake then remembered it was the same exact thing with him, Big Boss, Miller, and Morpho during the old days. The only freedom man really wants is the freedom to be comfortable, much like a helicopter cabin. Snake must have sat in the chopper for a while longer before exiting, settling on his sore feet, surrounded by his saluting troops, his family.

Amongst them was Ocelot and Miller, even DD as he ran up in a desperate attempt for a pet from his master which he gladly gave, however, the hound also sensed the despair from him and the absence of Quiet which caused him to whine. The last thing Snake wanted right now was to hear Miller's voice after all he has done to Quiet, and only hoped that his XO wouldn't push the wrong buttons.

"Boss, Quiet was too dangerous to be kept alive you know that." Miller began as he slowly hobbled over to Snake, "She was the last to be infected with the parasites. We won't worry about her infecting-"

 _Smack!_

Kaz's aviators flew off his face and he tumbled to the ground clutching his painful jaw with his only hand. Everyone's eyes had widened and there were a lot of distinctive mutterings among the men at what had just transpired. Ocelot pinched the bridge of his nose as Miller stared at their leader in utter shock. Snake didn't say a word and neither dared his own men or Ocelot as he simply walked away from the scene with DD trailing behind him. Snake had begun crossing the connecting bridge to the Medical Platform, on foot with nothing but the sea breeze and fresh ocean air accompanied by the occasional calls of seagulls. By the time he had reached the Platform the sun had already set.

He walked towards Quiet's cell, looking down through the barred ceiling seeing it bare empty, the radio usually on 24/7, dead silent. The signs that were tagged _"Talk or Die"_ and other deliberate comments to them Snake ripped them from the railings and tossed them into the sea. With his heart heavy, Snake descended the stairs walking closer to the cell before entering and paced slowly over to the cot where he had seen Quiet sunbathe and sleep. Snake sat on the cot staring blankly at the wall behind the bars, DD had curled up near his feet quietly whining. Pulling out his tape recorder and lying out flat on the cot, Snake played Quiet's message on repeat before sleep had overwhelmed him, her voice as his calming lullaby.

* * *

 ** _0600_** **Hours...**

Snake's eye shot open after another nightmare snuck up on him, however, they weren't his own nightmares. The battery for the Walkman was dead, the cell was flooded with the thick morning dew. Snake sat up on the cot stretching out the tense muscles in his only arm, his neck and back. After a few cracks and pops, Snake stood up working out his legs until he saw Ocelot's figure leaning against the bars of the cell spinning one of his revolvers like he always does.

"Feelin' lucky, kid?" Ocelot quipped.

"There's no such thing as luck on the battlefield." Snake's gravelly voice recalled.

"Guessing you're starting to remember after hearing the tape the Boss has left you."

Snake nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose. Snake then ran his hand through DD's mane as the hound laid beside the cot and scratched his head earning him a tired yawn.

"Just bits and pieces, give me more time and my mind will be right as rain." Snake said.

"Filled in Miller on the Boss's plan. He's not happy about it, but he's still agreeing to be the XO. Pretty soon all of Mother Base will know the truth, but the world will still see you as Big Boss."

Snake placed the Phantom Cigar in his mouth and used the iDroid to activate it. Remembering as a former medic Adrian gave up smoking a long time ago, but to uphold Big Boss's mantle he had to take up on his habits as well in terms with being implanted with memories through induced hypnagogia during his coma. The Phantom Cigar was one of his creations, the perfect substitute for tobacco without the risk of lung cancer. Eventually, the Phantom Cigar became a habit to Snake, in the end, he breathed in the smoke of the medicinal herbs used as the cigar's tobacco and exhaled the sweet tasting vapors. When Snake looked at his watch he noticed it was already 10 passed 6 AM.

"I'm just a Phantom. I've written my own history, I'm my own man." Snake recalled, remarking Big Boss's words on the tape he had received from Ocelot the day before. "I got my orders and you do too."

Ocelot spun his weapon back into its holster, "Fair enough. So what's next, _Boss_?"

"Get the Intel teams together, I want every inch of Afghanistan searched."

"You're going after her?"

Snake ascended the stairway, "I know Quiet well enough to know she won't go down without a fight. A hunter never stops hunting."

"Where are you going?" Ocelot followed.

Snake placed the cigar in his mouth, "To see the wizard."

* * *

 ** _Code Talker's Lab_**  
 ** _Medical Platform_**

"Skull Face had stolen my research before I was even able to develop a thesis for a solution into curing the condition." Code Talker explained, setting down his pipe and leans forward in his wheelchair. "It is why with such little resources I had left I was able to create a prevention method."

"The Wolbachia treatments." Ocelot said.

"Yes."

"But Quiet refused them?" Snake asked.

Code Talker nodded. The Navajo Elder was the only one on Mother Base who had a direct conversation with Quiet, and through his native language, Code Talker had uncovered Quiet's true intentions and struggles with loyalty and revenge. The One That Covers was a worthy ally to her as much as it was to him, and to use it for the safeguard of language from Skull Face's Ethnic Cleansers even as to sacrificing themselves to rid the world of the Vocal Cords Parasites while being a puppet for Skull Face's control was nothing but pure raw emotion. But Code Talker had realized Quiet's intentions upon sacrificing herself was not for the world or for herself.

"As I said before, a part of her still wanted revenge, against you. But in the end, she had sacrificed her life so that you would live." Code Talker continued, returning the pipe to his mouth and took a slow drag.

"Diamond Dogs has lost so much already. I don't need any more of my men dying on my watch." Snake grumbles.

"The treatments, will they work on Quiet?" Ocelot asks.

"The One That Covers serves her well, I have no doubt that she can withstand the lethal effects of the parasites for a given time."

"But not for long." Snake deduced, earning a slow nod from the Navajo.

Ocelot continued to pace the room, as usual, his spurs clinking with each step, "If I remember correctly, Quiet's tests shows that her lungs were burned to almost nothing back in Cyprus, but thanks to your parasite treatment she was able to survive. However, the Vocal Cords Parasites were primed to feast on the host's lungs upon hatching. Besides thanks to the parasites in her skin, she's able to breathe without the use of her lungs, how is it the vocal cords parasites are still able to kill off a host like Quiet?"

"Even with a case like her, the Vocal Cords Parasites is like _cancer._ When the eggs hatch it is death incarnate if the proper treatments aren't received in time."

"What will it take for you to make a cure?" Snake asked suddenly.

"Skull Face has stolen my research before I was able to come up with a thesis as I've said before, however, with the materials you have recovered for me I may be able to run some tests, but there is one crucial element."

"Which is?" asked Ocelot.

"I'll need a sample of the English Strain."

"The remaining English Strains were destroyed, the Boss made sure of that."

Code Talker frowns and a emits a quiet groan, "Then there is no hope for a cure."

The entire lab fell into a silence and Snake's face was blank as he looked towards the ground. He removed himself from his seat and headed for the door with Ocelot trailing behind him. The outside had a faint scent of rain approaching, a weather of sorrow, not that Snake ever believed in superstitions. Snake only began to reflect on how many men were lost since it all started back in the Carribean, since MSF, and now here in Diamond Dogs. Losing his comrades to Cipher and the Parasites were two times too many for his conscious as a leader and servant to Outer Heaven. But Big Boss didn't allow demons into his Heaven, and Venom Snake was more than a mere demon like Skull Face said.

 _"Boss!"_ Miller's voice called from behind both men. The XO hobbled over and with a visible bruise appearing on his jawline from where Snake had hit him when he got back from Afghanistan. "We have an emergency." He says.

Snake nodded and they walked side by side to the jeep. Ocelot hopped into the driver's seat and Miller got into the passenger while Snake rode in the back. Along the way to the command platform, Miller began to detail the findings from Intel.

"Boss, about Eli and his boys." Miller began.

"You know where they went?"

"We're still working on it, but the chopper pilot they had fly them out of here is back."

"And?"

"He said once Sahelanthropus and the chopper got out to sea, they splited up and headed into different directions. The chopper headed straight for Africa. They made it about 50 miles in island before running out of fuel. The kids used vines and duct tape to tie the pilot to his seat before they disappeared. He was almost dead from dehydration when the medics found him. They left him alive on purpose."

"Yeah, they're calling us out. They want to settle this."

"The intel teams are using the direction Sahelanthropus headed and the direction the kids took off in, to narrow down the search area. And with HEC helping out, it won't be long before we know where Eli is."

 ** _Command Platform_**  
 ** _0630 Hours…_**

The jeep had arrived at the platform pulling up to the command building, "There is one thing that bothers me." Miller added.

Both men exited the jeep, "What's that?"

"Apparently there are already men going around the nearby villages asking for witnesses of the _"giant in the sky"_."

"Damn it, already?"

Miller nodded, "It's clearly business as usual for Cipher even with Skull Face gone. They must have been dying to get Sahelanthropus back ever since Afghanistan." Both men boarded the handicap lift up to the main floor of the command center and entered, "And if they beat us to it, they'll be getting more than that - Eli's carrying the English strain of the vocal cord parasite."

Snake stopped in the middle of the room with his eye widening. Miller wobbled around the command table looking down at the maps, "We tracked down Eli and his "men". They've spread the parasite across the island. It won't affect you if your voice hasn't broken, so they're safe, for now."

Snake rubbed his stubbled face as many thoughts were running through his head at once, like a sudden answer to a solution.

"Eli's driven the adults off the island. _'Recess is officially in session'_. His own version of the _"Lord of the Flies"_. Only instead of a pig's head, Sahelanthropus. And it's swarming with something worse than flies. They've presented one demand in exchange for the nuke, Big Boss's body. Those kids have got a lot to learn."

Snake had lit his Phantom Cigar once more taking a drag before deciding against it and switched it off.

Miller adjusted his aviators, "So it was you all along. Huh, _Lieutenant_?"

Miller knew he was looking at Lieutenant Adrian Zhadanov, former medic of the Soviet Airborne Regiment, the chief medic of the Militaires Sans Frontières. Snake, however, didn't answer as he was looking out the viewing window of the command center.

"The Boss I knew would never let that slime Emmerich walk away scot free while he sent our brothers to die! Or let an agent of Cipher onto the base in the first place! Have you learned nothing?!" Miller incensed.

"I have everything I need to know, Kaz." Snake spoke.

"Just like that then?!" Miller scoffed.

"Yeah, just like that. There is only room for one boss and one snake." Snake explained, "I'm the Phantom of both, nothing more, nothing less. And I'm no hero, never was and never will be." Snake turned to face his XO, looking him straight in the eye, "You best remember that Kaz." Snake then proceeded to head for the exit before the sound of Miller's voice stopped him.

"After everything we have done for him, this is how he repays us?" Miller asks, "This doesn't bother you?"

Snake stood at the doorway looking over his shoulder, "In time." He says before exiting, leaving Miller behind to sulk in the feelings of betrayal and deceit Big Boss has ensued.

 **(Episode 51)  
** **"Kingdom of The Flies"**

 ** _Aerial Command Center  
_** ** _20 Miles from Landing Zone  
_** ** _1200 Hours…_**

Punished "Venom" Snake had smoothed out the material of a long strip of cloth. ' _I cheated death because of you, and thanks to you I've left my mark. You have, too. You have written your own history, you're your own man. I'm Big Boss, and you are too. No, he's the two of us together. Where we are, today? We built it. This story, this legend, it's ours. We can change the world and with it the future. I am you and you're me. Carry that with you wherever you go. Thank you, my friend. From here on out...'_ Snake took the same cloth and tied it around his head.

 _'...you're Big Boss.'_

This bandana was found in the mammal pod that stored Strangelove's body. With Big Boss's memories, Snake knew what it was. It was _hers_. How it was salvaged from Lake Nicaragua was unknown and it was evident that Strangelove had repaired it lovingly. Snake took out a cassette tape labeled _"Operation Kingdom of the Flies"_ and placed it in his Walkman then pressed play.

 _"Okay Boss, the objective is to recover Sahelanthropus and the children, Eli included. Once you're in the air, we'll hit the island with napalm. We can't let those things spread. It gets worse, here's the tape from when Eli took off."_

The second recording in the background began to play and it was the sound of Eli going through a coughing fit,

 _"Where is he?"_ Eli's thick English accent spoke

 _"I told you, your father is not here."_

 _"They're back."_ The tape cut off.

 _"His voice is starting to change, meaning he's almost a man. So if he's carrying the English-language Strain, well, if he starts showing symptoms, it's over."_

 _ **Quarantined Island off the coast of Africa**_  
 _ **1221 Hours…**_

Snake had on a protective mask as he descended into the treacherous jungles. Holding close his silenced equipped AM MRS-4 aiming it ahead of him in case of XOF soldiers popping out from the wilderness. They were already searching the island when Snake arrived and it wasn't much sooner when Snake found bodies of XOF soldiers lying or hanging dead from the boobie traps, lied out by the children no doubt. Each body of the XOF had on white hazmat suits and masks. Snake passed over the bodies and looked out for any remaining traps heading towards the center of the Island. The heat was wearing him down aside from the occasional bug bites, sweat dripped in long lines soaking into his bandana. Snake stopped for a drink from his canteen letting the cool water flow down his dried up throat, moisturizing it back to life.

Unfortunately, it was the last drop and it was just as well as he couldn't afford removing his mask when getting closer to the target, had to make it count. Snake checked his watch and it was about 10 minutes till one already. Just when he thought he was drawing closer following the smoke rising in the distance, sighing with relief that he had found a stream of fresh water to refill his canteen, only to also discover the hulking towering bipedal weapon, Sahelanthropus. Beyond the spiked makeshift gate, there were kids sitting on the rocks swinging their legs and exchanging conversations in their native languages. Inside the cockpit of the Sahelanthropus sat a child clad in a red hazmat suit and mask.

Strangely he was the only one, so far and the children below were without a doubt infected.

The child stood up from the pilot seat using Sahelanthropus' height to his advantage in scoping out for any more intruders, like Snake and the XOF. The whole sight alone basically said, _"No adults allowed"_ which seems adorable, but not with someone like Eli leading them. Especially when he was suspecting of being part of the Les Enfants Terribles project. Miller was the only one fooled into believing that the DNA test was false after comparing DNA from someone who isn't really Big Boss. This child really is one of the Sons of Big Boss after all. Snake was about to sneak closer when he suddenly saw white-clad figures on the ridge beside Sahelanthropus. XOF Soldiers were sneaking up from the ground on the opposite side of the streams. But even more coming in from Snakes side forcing him into hiding as the XOF coordinated closer to their target. There were about a dozen men lying in wait, one aimed his weapon at the child in the mouth of Sahelanthropus. Before Snake would even risk intervening the soldier had fired his shot.

But the shot never connected with its target as it struck the Floating Boy instead as he appeared out of nowhere. That straight jacket and gas mask was hard to forget. The children at Sahelanthropus' feet ran away from the danger before every XOF soldier released a flurry of machine gun fire. Nothing was phasing the boy, not until the XOF soldiers pulled out GROM-11 Rocket propelled grenade launchers. Volleys of rockets zipped through the air and lit up the head of Sahelanthropus. The attack halted as the entire region was shrouded in smoke. When it cleared, however, the Floating Boy was left unharmed and the child in the Hazmat suit flashed a mocking posture before hopping down into the pilot seat and the cockpit had closed. Sahelanthropus screeched to life almost making Snake's ears ring from the tense metal grinding against each other. It was no doubt that child was Eli.

What which was a good defense became the offense as Sahelanthropus' Vulcan cannons activated showering the XOF platoon with gunfire almost tearing their bodies in two and turning their white hazmat suits crimson red. Sahelanthropus' high-pitched wail disoriented some of the XOF as they tried to help their wounded. Then came the devastating leap into the air and tons upon tons of metal had dropped upon the XOF like a big boot stepping on ants. Snake's third encounter with the weapon of mass destruction when he bolted in the opposite direction, avoiding suffering the same fate of the enemy. Those who made it out of the Sahelanthropus' way were ultimately burned alive by supernatural fire combusting over the streams.

Pained screams filled Snake's ears as he looked back up the towering behemoth. Sahelanthropus squatted down close enough for the mouth to open and reveal its pilot. Snake let his rifle hang at his side walking closer.

"I'd knew you'd be through here!" Eli called down.

"You're not a kid anymore. You call your own shots." Snake replied, "But at this rate you'll be dead before you have a chance."

"I'm free to die however I wish. Yes, _free_." Sahelanthropus' stood up straight, "You don't get the last word, Father. I'll break the curse of my heritage! And to do that, first I will kill you!"

Before Sahelanthropus could attack, helicopter blades whistled by as a fleet of gunships bearing the symbol of the Diamond Dogs appeared.

 _"This is Pequod! Commencing attack! Boss, get out of there!"_ The radio crackled.

A volley of Anti-Tank missiles whistled from the choppers and hit its target barely causing a dent. Snake began running to a safe distance as the Diamond Dogs commenced their attack when battle tanks came from the forests and aimed their cannons at Sahelanthropus. Next was Walker Gears equipped with Gatling guns and Anti-Tank missiles. After a dozen missiles connected with Sahelanthropus, the dented behemoth suddenly reached into it's side to pulled out a long black whip and began snapping the choppers out of the air, and using the said whip which straightened out and slammed down to the forest ground causing a tremor of black spikes to shoot up from the ground and take out a battalion of tanks.

Even so in the end when Venom Snake watched the battle from his ACC, the Diamond Dogs Navy, and Air Force had invaded showering Sahelanthropus with more cannon and missile fire. Piece by piece, Sahelanthropus began falling apart and wailed as if it was suffering from pain if a machine could feel.

 _"Head's up, boss!"_ Miller called over the radio.

Snake looked up to see something lower down to the battlefield, The Battle Gear. The tank powered to life using its treads to glide over the debris and get closer to the heavily damaged Sahelanthropus. The Railgun on the Battle Gear started to power up and charged with a bright blue light. An electrically charged whistle from the weapon suddenly sent a large beam towards Sahelanthropus delivering the final blow. Both arms had dropped from the body and the head had gave away falling down to the forest ground. The Diamond Dogs had begun cheering their victory while the determined as ever Venom Snake motioned for Pequod to land near Sahelanthropus' head. When he arrived, Snake jumped down to the ground almost tumbling to the ground after Sahelanthropus' pursuit. Snake knelt to draw in more air looking around the next corner seeing Eli crawl from the wreckage.

?!

Snake suddenly saw XOF soldiers open fire on Eli. Fear gripped Snake tight as he saw Eli fall from the cockpit and to the grassy earth. Five more XOF had come from the trees surrounding the boy. Snake panicked fishing out his sidearm, checking the clip seeing one of the XOF soldiers toss his rifle to his partner before drawing his own sidearm to finish off Eli.

 _Damn it!_

Snake replaced the clip and loaded a fresh round into the chamber before popping up and shot three rounds striking each kill zone of the XOF, but Snake had given away his position to the remaining XOF soldiers. Snake quickly ducked behind cover when chunks of stone were being chipped off the boulder he was hiding behind from automatic gunfire. Snake blindly reached over the stone to return fire until the clip went dry. As he proceeded to load another, he suddenly saw a spherical shape land beside him.

 _Grenade!_

Snake leaped over the rock dodging the fragmentation but was caught in the blast wave. Snake's head connected with another set of stones causing a head trauma sending him into a seizure. His vision was blurred and was unable to differentiate between red and white. He tried to blink away the trauma making him see colors that weren't there. The red of his bionic arm was all white, Eli's hazmat suit was all white as well almost making it impossible to determine which is which when XOF surrounded him. Without thinking, Snake drew his sidearm and fired at each XOF despite his color blindness. Then Eli let out a terrible scream.

Snake had gotten to his feet blinking repeatedly seeing Eli's red Hazmat suit.

"No…" He gasped, "No, no, no…" He chanted walking towards Eli, Snake fell to his knees gripping the boy's head, looking through the visor of his gas mask.

His eyes were closed.

Something snapped inside of Snake as he drew his gaze into the air, "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" His voice echoed causing birds to abandon the treeline and take to the air.

 _What have I done…?_

 _ **1421 Hours…**_

As Cargo Choppers began pulling pieces of Sahelanthropus off the ground, a separate chopper landed and Ocelot had touched the ground surrounded by his Ocelot unit and wearing masks for protection. Ocelot can see Snake kneeling over Eli he placed against the rocks. The team medic walked over placing a gentle hand on his commander's shoulder,

"Gimme some room." He orders.

Snake moved out of the medic's way for him to kneel down and take off Eli's helmet and mask. The medic zipped down the hazmat suit to reveal a bullet lodged into body armor Eli was wearing.

"He's alright, vest took the bullet."

Snake nodded with relief, "Get him on the chopper. We'll patch him up at base."

Another Medic had placed on his goggles looking closer at Eli before gasping and jumped back, "Boss, he's showing symptoms!"

The other Diamond Dogs stepped back in fear. Eli began laughing at their cowardice before coughing. Snake, however, knelt in front of the boy.

"I was created by Cipher. And I was the flaw... My fate was written in my genes... I'm the loser." Eli spoke, defeated. "You! All because of you!" Eli raised his hand, "I'm not me… I'm just a copy of you! I will surpass my father, I will destroy my father." Eli suddenly grabbed Snake's bionic arm, "Destroy you! I'll kill all of Cipher. I'll destroy your precious world!"

Ocelot reached over and placed a hand on Snakes shoulder waving him to step away.

"There's nothing you can do for him…" Ocelot said.

"Island is completely contaminated. Orders are to use napalm to sanitize." A soldier said.

"Sanitize every square inch." Ocelot ordered, "Prepare to drop."

The soldiers saluted.

"We're pulling out, move!" Ocelot ordered the men leaving Snake and Eli alone.

Snake drew his sidearm and aimed it at the White Mamba.

"Live…" Eli began, "Live!"

"You're one hell of a soldier." Snake spoke.

"I will kill you!" Eli yelled.

Snake ejected the ammo clip, "That's right." He then ejected the chambered round, "Don't blame yourself, blame me…" He replaced the round and locked the slide. He knelt down to Eli's level holding the gun by the barrel, "You're inferior, but it's up to you to change that." Snake narrowed his eyes at the sound of a respirator approaching behind him. Using CQC, Snake grabbed the intruder and flipped him to the ground pulling off his gas mask. The red haired boy began coughing and wheezing, Snake then grabbed his arms and reconnected the straight jacket while finally holding the gun against his head.

"Break your concentration?" Snake said holding up the Floating Boy's mask. Snake, however, then mentally winced at the sight of the boy's disfigured face. "Here's what's gonna happen, I need something from him and I need you to get it for me. And I know you can." He pulled out an empty vial and opened it, "Look me in the eye and you tell me what I want."

The Floating boy blinked looking at Eli still wheezing by the absence of his mask. The boy bowed his head and suddenly Eli coughed up a blob that hovered in the air and slowly glided into the vial. Satisfied, Snake replaced the cap of the vial and dropped both the mask and the gun before walking towards the chopper giving Eli one final look. Eli had already picked up the gun aiming it at Snake, but never pulled the trigger as the chopper began pulling away.

Eli watched the chopper fly away looking down at the gun. The Floating Boy replaced his mask which returned his focus into using his abilities once more and hover in the air. The boy motioned for Elie to take his hand which he did and they both took to the air before the napalm commenced.

"Not yet… It's not over yet." Eli sneered.

 **(Debriefing)**

 _ **Seychelles Waters**_  
 _ **Medical Platform**_  
 _ **1700 Hours**_

 ** _Three days later..._**

Code Talker analyzed the parasite Snake had retrieved from Eli in an airtight room of his lab and very carefully began writing down detailed notes. He carefully began splicing the strain and Wolbachia, adding different compounds collected from the skulls and data collected from Quiet's file on her parasite therapy. Code Talker took out a separate vial of Wolbachia combined with synthesized English strain twisted with a potent concoction making it a possible prevention method, an antidote. After Code Talker injected the "Cure" into the sample of an infected Larynx, the elder looked into the microscope seeing the parasitic cells come into contact with the injected cure. The English strain was washed away in an instant much to his satisfactory. When the experiments were successful, Code Talker handed a vial of the cure to Snake.

"It is potent, though it may not last forever. I must do more tests, but for now, this was a success." Code Talker let Snake take the vial. "Now you must find her and make her take it. Though I must warn you, she may put up a fight."

Snake nodded exiting the labs to the outside of the medical building. Snake placed his Phantom Cigar in his mouth and used his iDroid to activate it. After a couple of drags he saw Ocelot approach him.

"You've been quiet the past few days." Ocelot said joining the Diamond Dogs commander in the sightseeing of the Seychelles.

"Haven't I always?" Snake remarked.

Ocelot chuckled, "I guess so. This thing with Eli, it…" He paused, "I can't imagine how hard it is."

Snake exhaled the vapors, "What? That he was my son? _His_ son? I did what had to be done, Big Boss would do the same."

"And Quiet? Would Big Boss do the same for her?"

Snake cast his gaze to the ground letting loose a quiet sigh before returning to his cigar.

Ocelot took note of his silence, "I guess there is somethings about Lieutenant Adrian Zhdanov that can't change." Ocelot pulled out the folder from under his arm and handed it to him, "I can't complain."

Snake took the folder and opened it showing a picture of Quiet wearing a cloak concealing her face. Snake can feel the relief and joy of seeing her still alive.

"She's heading towards Mazar-i-Sharif. The city is Soviet controlled, Boss… There's gonna be a speech made there for the man of honor."

Snake narrowed his eye at the report of the upcoming event, "Gorbachev… She's gonna kill Gorbachev."


	2. Chapter 2

**_WARNING! This contains Spoilers!_**

 ** _DISCLAIMER: The Metal Gear Franchise are all owned by Hideo Kojima!_**

 ** _P.S: Fuck Konami!_**

 **Metal Gear Solid V:** **The Phantom Pain** **  
** **The Lost Episode**

Chapter 2  
"Broken Butterfly"

 ** _December 3rd, 1974  
_ _10 Years Earlier..._**

 ** _U.S. Naval Prison Facility, Cuba_**  
 ** _1340 Hours_**

Adrian Zhdanov paced back and forth on a docked U.S. Navy ship blaring into his radio with his senior officer. He kept his Makarov holstered at his side, keeping his cap down over his eyes. He wasn't happy by the way he was treated, he was the youngest Combat Medic in the Soviet Union, but still he was treated as its errand boy. All he wanted was to prove that he was combat proven. He didn't see his commanding officer as his superior but as his adoptive father.

" _Vint mat' zemlyu Sergeya!_ " Adrian argued, "I will not stand for this treachery! Compromising with the Americans?! They're our enemies!" His shoulders then lowered as did his head in defeat, "Yes sir, Captain... Fine." The call cut off provoking Adrian to toss the radio into the bay, "I won't forget your kindness, _Captain_ Sergei Gurlukovich." He cursed the man's name leaning forward over the railing continuing his " _assistance_ " on the base. In a nutshell, Adrian was no longer part of the Soviet Union, which justified his presence at the base much to his unsatisfactory and disgust. Adrian pulled out a pack of smokes and popped one into his mouth lighting it with a zippo.

 _"Freeze!"_ Adrian did freeze at the sound of the voice, "Hands above your head, now!" The intruder ordered.

Raising his hands in surrender uncaringly, he then sneered; "Intruder alert, intruder alert." facing the enemy seeing him aiming a silenced rifle at his head. He had an eye patch over his right eye and he had on a black sneaking suit.

"Toss your weapon overboard, _Slowly_." He orders, his weapon trained focus on him. Adrian pulled out the Makorov with his left hand and dropped it into the bay, "Where are your friends?" He asked.

"No friends of mine, American pig!" Adrian muttered.

The intruder's eye quirked, "A Russian? Show your face."

Adrian slowly removed his cap letting the sun shine off his platinum blonde hair, "I'm just a nomad, an Exile." He dropped the cap.

"Me too." The intruder added, "What else do you have there? Take that knife and toss it." He pointed.

Adrian narrowed his eyes spitting out his cigarette and pulled out the knife, "You know what you're doing." He commented.

"Why are Russians on guard duty on an American base?"

"Who wants to know, _Big Boss_?" Adrian countered.

Big Boss' eyebrow quirks once more, "You know who I am?"

Adrian shrugged, "Everyone does I read about what happened in Tselinoyarsk. Killing the so called Legendary Soldier, The Boss."

"You still haven't answered my question." Big Boss countered.

"Like I said, I'm a Nomad." Adrian said.

Big Boss took note of the red cross on Adrian's pack, "A Soviet Combat Medic?"

"Combat Emergency Physician." Adrian corrected.

"And _you_ are?"

"G-n KH." Adrian introduced.

"G-n KH..? Hmm, _Mr. X_ " Big Boss translated.

"I'd prefer _Dr. X_." Adrian corrected once more.

"Ain't you a little _young_ to be a doctor?"

Adrian rolled his eyes, " _Saladin_ then." His arms fell to his sides, "I'd like to talk more, Big Boss. But I need to bring a little conclusion to our little tour." He sneers. Adrian twirled his body around jabbing the hilt of his knife forward, pressing a small weapon firing a bullet from within it. After Big Boss dodged out of the way, Adrian hopped overboard into the bay. He began swimming to shore when the alarm sounded saluting. Big Boss watched the kid mockingly salute him before running into the base.

Big Boss unknown to the Soviet he gave an impressed smirk.

* * *

 ** _Seychelles Waters  
Present Day..._**

 ** _Combat Unit Platform_**  
 ** _Firing Range_**  
 ** _300 Hours_**

 ** _A Week after Operation Kingdom of The Flies..._**

Venom Snake practiced his marksmanship with an AM D114 pistol, almost hitting a bullseye at every shot. Snake was listening to Quiet's favorite song he had heard her hum a million times, she did have a taste in music or maybe it was her main focus that made her a talented sniper. She is in Afghanistan, he could feel it. He still didn't know what these feelings meant, it happened since their second encounter when he refused to shoot her that day. Was it Gratitude? Sympathy? Or maybe, just maybe love? Big Boss doesn't love, he focuses on the mission.

Snake emptied the rest of the clip to block out any more thought on the matter about his relationship with Quiet. A _complicated_ relationship that was more than between a Soldier and a Commander. After the song ended he can hear Ocelot call his name aside from the sounds of his spurs. Snake faced the Ocelot Commander reloading a fresh clip into his gun,

"The Intel team has confirmed it, Mikhail Gorbachev is gonna be making a speech in Mazar-i-Sharif tomorrow." Ocelot handed Snake the file, "We only assume Quiet is going to be plotting the assassination. However, personally, I don't think she'll be risking of spreading the disease by waltzing into the city."

"She's gonna be using a strong vantage point for the shot, more likely in outskirts of the City." Snake said.

"Miller is the only one being kept out of the loop, I don't know about him anymore, Boss. I don't think he can take this charade much longer."

"What makes you say that?" Snake asked.

"I believe his words were, ' _Big Boss can go to hell_. _I'll make his phantom and his sons stronger, to send him there.'_."

Snake slowly shook his head at Miller's arrogance, "His time will come, when the time is right he might as well get his wish. The Sons of Big Boss will grow up to face each other someday. We all have roles to play, I have mine and you have yours, and Kaz has his too."

Ocelot nodded, "When Outer Heaven launches, a new era will begin. For Miller, he won't have a future with us."

"Until then, Ocelot, We got work to do."

* * *

 ** _Afganistan, Outskirts of Mazar-i-Sharif_**  
 ** _800 Hours..._**

Several Russian Soldiers stood at their outpost offering one another a cigarette and making small talk in the middle of their patrol. Two of them sat next to their radio listening to popular tunes of this day in age,

"Mikhail Gorbachev prikhodya zavtra."

The second soldier nodded his head in agreement, "YA znayu. Prazdnovaniye nashey obretennoy pobedy v vostochnykh territoriy." Suddenly the two soldiers began hearing humming in the distance, a female voice, "Chto eto za fignya?" The first soldier asked picking up his AK.

The Soviet nodded his head towards the direction of the noise, "Davayte proverim eto..."

They drew closer to the humming peaking around the boulder seeing a cloaked figure curled into a ball, rocking back and forth.

"Kto idet?!" The soviet shouted, but the figure didn't respond and kept humming, "Nazovite sebya!" He shouted again reaching for the cloak and pulled it off when suddenly the figure wasn't there anymore, "Chto yebat'!?" He exclaimed when suddenly gloved hands wrapped around his head, and twisted it snapping his neck.

"Zloumyshlennik!" The second Soviet shouted firing at the intruder who suddenly vanished into thin air again, suddenly appearing out of the air, landing on the soviet driving a knife into his groin repeatedly.

The remaining Soviets began firing at the intruder only to be picked off when she had appeared in the middle of them delivering a kick to one's gut sending him a couple of feet away, a knife punctured the throat of the second, finally, after vanishing and reappearing behind the third she wrapped her legs around his head twisting her body hearing a loud snap before the soviet's body fell to the ground.

"Der'mo!" The remaining soldier cried jumping into his jeep and began driving away from the attack.

The woman had pulled out her rifle and wrapped her arm with the sling before taking aim. A black face paint appeared around her eyes before she pulled the trigger a second later. Miles ahead the driver's head popped with crimson causing the jeep to lose control and flip over when it a boulder. Quiet fell to her knees coughing out blood onto the dirt. Her skin was pale white and clammy from the infection, she stood up moments later continuing down the road towards the city, humming her favorite song.

* * *

 **(Episode 52)  
"Broken Butterfly"**

 _"Alright Boss, your mission objective is to locate Quiet and stop her assassination on Mikhail Gorbachev. It's the turn of November as of today. That means two weeks away from the 39th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War. There will be a parade down the main street before his victory speech in front the Shrine of Ali mosque, that's when we suspect Quiet to take the shot. When you do find Quiet, be sure to inject her with that miracle cure the old man has brewed up."_

Venom Snake was dressed in a casual attire with a tanned coat buttoned over his suit. His bionic arm was replaced with the prosthetic hook instead. He also wore a beanie cap covering the shrapnel. The only thing that was implicating him to be big boss was the eyepatch which wasn't a factor considering chances of him just being an ordinary war veteran.

 _"You may be in Soviet-controlled, territory, but this is still a registered city of Afghanistan. That means innocent civilians and law enforcement. Weapons are strictly prohibited in this mission Boss, Pequod won't be able to enter the city and there will be absolutely no back up if you're discovered. As of right now you're nothing more than a civilian from Russia attending Gorbachev's speech. Good luck Boss."_

Venom Snake placed his phantom cigar in his mouth and lit it with his iDroid before checking the map. He was about half a mile from the mosque where Gorbachev is scheduled to be making his speech. Snake exhaled the vapors before casually walking along the sidewalk with his right hand in his pocket while using the prosthetic hook to tend to the cigar. Up ahead was the next checkpoint, Snake stood in line casually looking around before looking up to the sky seeing a small flickering light. The Diamond Dog's stealth equipped Blackbird.

 _"So far the Blackbird hasn't been seen by enemy radar. Hope it stays that way when we find Quiet. We have managed to equip the Parasites detector to the Blackbird, so if our boy finds someone with symptoms, it's her."_ Ocelot spoke over the radio.

"Sleduyushchiy!" The guard called as Snake was next in line, Snake handed the guard his papers, "Gde vy otpravit'sya, tovarishcha?" He asked looking over the pass.

 _"How's your Russian?"_ Ocelot asked.

"Uchastiye v prazdnovaniye" Snake replied in a fluent Russian accent.

The guard nodded before heading the papers back to him and motioned for him to pass.

 _"Nice Work."_ Ocelot chuckled through the radio.

 ** _Mountain Ridge overlooking the Mosque 1.5 Miles away..._**

The rifle remained focused on the Mosque, the very stage where the leader of the Soviet Union was going to make his speech. The morning Afghani air was cool and the wind factor for the pending shot wasn't necessary for Quiet. She was using the last of her strength for what was going to be her final kill. Yet words still could not speak her feelings, the fact on why she drew her hatred to the Soviets and refuse to carry out her mission for Cipher. It didn't matter anymore, now that she activated the strain slowly killing her even with her abilities that helped her last this long. Sweat plastered her entire pale welted body, her eyes bloodshot, dried blood running from around her mouth and down her neck, smeared around her bust and stained into her top.

Once the sun will set she knows that when she will die.

* * *

 ** _2 Hours Later…_**

The parade was in session when registered citizens of the Soviet Union, Communists, Patriots of the great Motherland praised their leader. Escorted by tanks and jeeps as he stood in the back of his personal car saluting each soldier that lined up all the way down the main street. Snake followed Gorbachev's brigade down to the mosque. Cheers and distinctive band music erupted like thunder.

"Ocelot, what have you got?" Snake asked.

 _"Nothing yet… You may need a dog's nose to sniff out this one, the speech is beginning shortly. Time's running out."_

Desperate, Snake pulled out a dog whistle using the silent call. Within minutes, cheerful barking got closer then DD appeared from the crowds.

"Hey, boy." Snake cooed ruffling DD's ears.

DD let out a happy bark and licked his master's cheek, Snake proceeded to put a leash on his collar to blend in with society.

"Act casual now, we're on a mission." He whispered to the attack dog.

Snake began to walk DD towards the Mosque where the speech was going to take place, along the way, DD sniffed at the ground pointing at Gorbachev's location near the stage. DD received a pat on the head from Snake.

 _"The speech in starting in 5 minutes on schedule…"_ Ocelot pointed out.

 _Damn it…_

Snake then had a revelation, Quiet's message. Snake pulled out the tape and knelt down to DD for him to sniff at the tape, "C'mon, boy, she's around here somewhere. Find her quick." He detached the leash.

After getting her scent from the tape, DD began sniffing at the ground looking in the distance, huffing, and tilting his head before sprinting off barking happily.

"Ocelot, track DD's location. He may have something at least." Snake said.

 _"Tracking his position now, he's heading north towards the ridges. It's a long shot, but I'll send the coordinates to our bird in the sky. In the meantime, you must stay close to Gorbachev, make sure Quiet misses, at all costs."_

Snake began moving through the crowd near the stage blocked off by a couple of soldiers as he was finishing his ride in the parade. Anticipation began settling in as time was running out, hoping that DD and Ocelot find Quiet in time, she never misses. Five minutes later, the speech was about to begin and still no word from Ocelot. Time was running out and Snake started to sweat as the inevitable begun to arrive for the Kremlin. Killing Gorbachev will start a whole new conflict, driving the East and West deeper into the Cold War. Snake began pushing civilians out of the way getting closer to the stage as Gorbachev spoke his first lines. People cheered on occasion the first officers clapped for their leader, but all said noise were absent from Snake's ears as the whole world began to slow when the adrenaline in his bloodstream heightened.

Then he saw it, the red dot of a laser sight in the middle of Gorbachev's forehead. Snake sprinted out of the final line of the crowd and closer to the stage. Everything was in slow motion as Venom Snake shoved one of the guards out of the way, another proceeded to aim his weapon at Snake, but snake used CQC to disarm the guard and throw him to the ground. Sprinting up the steps onto the stage, Mikhail Gorbachev's head slowly turned with his eyes widening at someone charging at him.

" _BOSS!? What are you-?!_ "

Snake can hear the beating of his heart as time was still passing by very, very slowly. The red dot was still located on the Soviet leader's head, pointing at the very kill zone each shot made by Quiet has entered. Snake dove forward hearing a loud pop in the distance before his body connected with Gorbachev. Snake felt the sharp, burning pain in his right shoulder as a bullet had gone through and out the other end striking a Soviet General in the head as he was seated in one of the chairs on the stage, she _never_ misses. Blood and gray matter had exploded out the back of the general's head and his sitting body hand flew back into the curtain behind him.

On the ridge, Quiet's eyes had widened with shock. She looked through the scope once again to see the soldier's pull Gorbachev's savior off of him. His face drove her to tears, it was Snake. Quiet dropped the rifle crawling backward, coughing violently and more blood poured from her mouth before falling back, her consciousness slowly fading to black. Her _raccoon eye_ had vanished and her tears began running with red. Unknown to her, DD had reached her nudging at her face with his snout and licked her cheek. Saddened, DD whined while he lied ontop of her in a protective manner.

Back on the stage, Snake's consciousness began returning to him,

 _"Snake are you okay? Snake? SNAKE!"_ Ocelot's voice boomed over the radio.

Venom Snake began rolling his body until he dropped from the stage floor and onto the stone ground of the city, letting out a pained yelp from his shoulder. The citizens spread out in a panic while the soldiers opened fire towards the sound of the gunshot. A gunship was hovering towards the ridge provoking Snake to stand on his feet only to fall down once more. Blood continued to pour from the wound, the bullet went in and out shattering his shoulder blade and collarbone.

"Ocelot! D-Did you find her?" Snake grunted the pain was almost unbearable.

 _"There you are! Starting to worry me, kid. And yes, we did. Got visual confirmation from the bird. Boss, she's not moving and she's showing symptoms. DD's with her now."_

"Give me the location!" Snake said, struggling to his feet.

 _"Snake-"_

"NOW, Ocelot!" Snake barked.

 _"Alright, sending the location to your iDroid. The quicker you give her the cure, the better."_

Snake pulled out the iDroid, _'Marker Placed…'_ It chimed.

"Got it..." Snake acknowledged.

Snake began limping towards the nearest empty jeep used in the parade before hopping inside and kicked the vehicle alive. Shifting the gears, Snake's foot slammed on the gas. Using his prosthetic hook, Snake steered the vehicle the best he could as the Soviets concentrated on the direction of the sniper. The gunship was nearing the ridge when Snake had driven much closer trying not to black out from the blood loss.

" _Boss, we're working on a way to send Pequod in, but judging_ on _your current condition you'll have to lay low. The Soviet's are issuing a manhunt as we speak, every territory and city will be locked down tight._ "

Snake drove up the dirt path along the ridge, rounding the next corner seeing her and DD.

 _!?_

The gunship hovered out of nowhere now sitting face to face. Snake's eyes widened at his current predicament. Cautiously thinking, he saw that the ridge had a set of rocks that acted as a ramp in the path of the chopper. Snake hopped out of the jeep and using the last of his strength he lifted a sizable stone onto the gas. The engine revved almost to its peak when Snake finally disengaged the brake sending the jeep flying like a bullet hitting the stone ramp causing the vehicle to collide with the nose of the chopper causing a huge fiery explosion. The blast was strong enough to knock the wind out of Snake sending him to the dirt.

DD barked and licked his master's face waking him up. Snake gently pushed DD out of the way reaching into his bloody coat and pulled out a mask to protect him from the contagious English Strain Quiet still had. Lifting himself up once more, Snake fatigued limped over to Quiet, kneeling beside her. Careful not to push his only good arm further, Snake, as a former medic carefully used his hand to do a retinal response test on Quiet. She passed, she's alive. Snake proceeded to lift her onto his shoulders in a fireman's carry.

"I got her! Target secured." Snake reported.

" _Good, but you need to get out of there. That explosion just now will pinpoint your location as of right now. You got a small army heading your way._ "

"Any suggestions?"

" _Just one, hide. We'll keep the bird in the air for now as airspace is yet to tighten down further to keep an eye on those troops, but for now_ , _he spotted a cave a few clicks south of your location. Should be safe in there, for now…_ "

"Got it!" Snake acknowledged. Snake carried Quiet all the way south until he had reached the cave Ocelot mentioned, and once inside Snake carefully sat down Quiet with barely enough strength to keep himself up.

"Don't you die on me just yet…" Snake ordered. Reaching into his bloodstained coat he pulled out a silver cylinder popping off the cap, he then pulled out an auto-injector filled with Code Talker's _'cure'_. With a deep breath and a moment's silence, Snake injected it into Quiet's neck. Minutes passed when she suddenly seized. Snake held her down the best he could, but he was ultimately shoved away almost colliding with the cave wall. Quiet arched her back and coughed up more blood. She flipped onto her stomach coughing and grunting in pain before she suddenly coughed up something, a sizable white blob in a puddle of her blood.

Quiet passed out again, Snake was losing his strength and his consciousness. However, with the last bit of his strength Snake had knelt down next to the white blob and discovered it was the parasite like the one extracted from Eli, only bigger and matured, Quiet had reached the last stages of the infection and any minute could have been her last. Quickly, Snake started a fire with some flint and picked up the parasite with his prosthetic hook. He dropped it into the fire hearing it sizzle and burn to nothing. It was over, The Vocal Cords Parasites were no more. Without a moment's notice, Snake had passed out next to Quiet.

* * *

 ** _December 3rd, 1973  
10 Years Earlier..._**

 ** _U.S. Naval Prison Facility, Cuba_**  
 ** _1421 Hours..._**

Adrian Zhdanov was dripping wet from swimming to shore, escaping from the legendary soldier himself. Adrian had read about Big Boss since his service in the Soviet Union, ever since The Boss's defection. Adrian ran a hand through his platinum hair listening to the Americans shout over each other with the sounds of the alarm blaring throughout the base of signs of an intruder present. Anticipation was itching at the young Soviet as to wondering what Big Boss's plan was for being here in Cuba out of all places. Then it hit him, the Spotter Team... They have shown up since America's involvement in the Laotian Civil War. At least that's what he had suspected because of their reputation, real scum of the earth is what Adrian thinks of them.

Give him a hand if I wanted to...

Might as well... Big Boss wasn't fighting for country anymore. Adrian's country treats him like trash by sending him to Cuba in the first place, better working as a Mercenary than an expendable combat medic. Adrian remained leaning against a nearby wall watching the Americans coordinate around the docks, investigating the gunshot Adrian let out from his scout knife.

The ship was clean, figures...

Adrian walked deeper into the base, occasionally shaking the sea water from his boots, being on guard for the intruder. Adrian can see the Spotter team on one of the guard towers, whispering to each other. The two men, being Spotters had pulled out their binoculars to keep watch for the intruder while Adrian who saw a soldier get pulled into a window from behind. Adrian narrowed his eyes and pulled out his newly required sidearm, he slowly made his way to the small structure. With his breathing even and calm, Adrian entered the building swaying the barrel of his pistol from side to side. No sign of Big Boss or the unlucky dog... Yet. Adrian ducked down behind some boxes when he heard a noise from beyond them. Adrian crawled to the next corner before jumping up to aim his weapon only to see the squirming and stunned guard moaning in discomfort. The box behind him shifted closer to him before Big Boss emerged from the cardboard and aimed his weapon at Adrian, surprising him.

"Back to square one, Saladin." Big Boss sneered.

Adrian cursed under his breath dropping the gun to the floor, "You're good..."

Suddenly Adrian pulled off a basic form of CQC he learned, disarming Big Boss of his gun, but Big Boss had countered with driving Adrian to the ground. Adrian yelp with pain erupting in his side from colliding with the concrete.

"You're a quick thinker... For a medic."

Adrian growled out looking to trip Big Boss with his legs using forms in Sambo, the Russian martial art. Big Boss fell to Adrian's level on the floor and both men rolled around looking to gain the upper hand. Grunting and struggling, Adrain straddled the legendary soldier and began delivering a right hook to his jaw. But Big Boss grabbed his arm and pulled him into an armbar. Adrian yelled out from the tension being placed on his arm almost making him submit to Big Boss, but he instead stood up with Big Boss still holding onto his arm and Adrian yelled out when he slammed Big Boss's body onto the concrete forcing him to let go of his arm. Holding his arm in pain, Adrian reached into his pack and pulled out a silver cylinder.

Big Boss by the time he had gotten up had picked up his gun and aimed it at the Soviet. Adrian quickly spun, aiming the cylinder at Big Boss then pressed the button sending a dart, embedding it into the skin of Big Boss's neck. Big Boss winced at the small pinch pulling out the needle before his vision became hazy and his throat began closing up, all movement was impossible as he suddenly collapsed to the floor.

Adrian rubbed at his arm looking over the cylinder in his hand, "I developed this injector while working with animals in Africa... It's a compound of a variety of Venom found in the world's deadliest snakes." He knelt down next to Big Boss who was peppered with sweat and foam began foaming at his mouth, "Right now your body is going through excruciating pain... But it won't kill you, not right away... That's this new type of Venom I created is special for. A long lasting poison lasting five days to a week before death at a small dosage. When I was stationed in Africa I was bitten by a Black Mamba... Locals called it's bite the kiss of death. It's true too... I was going to die that day, but... I didn't. Didn't know why... A single Black Mamba can deliver 100mg of venom in one bite. It's venom contains a powerful neurotoxin, shutting down the victim's will to move. The process can be sped up when added the venom commonly found in Rattle Snakes." Adrian held up the injector, "Punished Venom... that's what I like to call it. A fate worse than death..." Adrian then pulled out a small vial of blue liquid, "And I have the antidote..." When he saw Big Boss struggle to reach for it, Adrian pulled away walking to his gun on the floor, picking it up.

"I expected more..." Adrian turned and was surprised to see Big Boss aim another gun at him. Adrian flinched at the silenced shot but it was no bullet that struck him, it was a needle." By the time Adrian pulled out the dart his consciousness slowly slipped away and he collapsed. The antidote for Punished Venom rolled out of his palm, and towards Big Boss. He took the vial and popped open the lid before consuming every last drop.

After minutes, Big Boss stood to his feet staring down at Adrian's sleeping form from the anesthetic. Big Boss touched his earpiece,

"Kaz... Got one coming by Fulton." He breathed.

"Recruit?"

"Maybe... Prep a cell first. We need to know more about this one."

* * *

 ** _Present Day_**

 ** _2 Hours after the assassination attempt..._**

After a couple of hours, stitches, and a handmade sling later, Venom Snake sat beside Quiet watching her sleep, not making a single sound. Her skin was still blistered from the parasite feeding off her lungs or what was left of them, her color slowly returned over time thanks to the parasites in her skin. The fever was also gone and Snake went as far to lay her body in a small puddle of fresh water to keep her hydrated. Snake used the remains of his ripped coat as a pillow for her head as he let his arm out of the sling so he could use a cloth to dip into the water and began tending to her blisters and cuts. Snake had removed her boots, her rigs, gloves, and leggings to help the water soak real good into her skin as he gently caressed her body with the cloth, washing away the grime and blood.

When she was clean enough and tended to the best he could, the Diamond Dog's commander sat against the cave wall replacing his arm into the sling after putting his phantom cigar in his mouth and lit it with the iDroid. After a few drags, Snake allowed the perception of time fly forward till it was almost morning of the next day. The cave remained cool during the blistering hot time of daybreak. DD, laying beside his master occasionally growled at the sounds of choppers flying overhead, looking for them no doubt. His whole body ached and his head was still swimmy from the blood loss.

"Mmm…" Quiet moaned out loud as she stirred.

Snake quickly got up when she sat upright looking around her in confusion.

"Quiet?" Snake called.

She jumped at the sound of his voice jumping to her feet,

"Hey, it's just me." Snake assured.

Quiet looked even more confused as he began shaking her head as if she tried to talk, but she couldn't as she turned her back to him.

"It's alright now." Snake stepped closer, "You're free now, from Cipher." He removed his arm from the sling to touch her arm gently. She flinched at the sudden action.

"Shí kænt…" She spoke in Navajo pulling herself away from Snake's grasp.

Snake extended his arm out fully, ignoring the pain in his shoulder as his hand landed on her bare shoulder, "Quiet, talk. In english."

Quiet hesitated for a moment, "You shouldn't have come for me…" Her accented voice spoke in a whisper.

Snake shook his head, "I never leave one of my own behind."

Quiet turned, "You lock up others, of _'your own'_?"

"It was a precaution, Quiet, you know that. You never have to see that cell again."

"I'm not going back!" She said.

Snake blinked with confusion.

Quiet lowered her head, "I can't, I'm Cipher's property. Their own creation, to kill you. But now they see me as a failure..."

"I'll protect you." Snake decreed.

"You can't, I'm protecting you." She walked up and placed her hand on the bandaged gunshot, caressing the bullet wound she gave him before moving to the center of his chest, feeling the beating of his heart, "From me…" A tear slid down her cheek before she suddenly used her camo ability to vanish.

Snake didn't object, he only stared at the same space where he last saw her. When he heard shoutings in Russian, provoking DD to start growling. he wasted no time to linger any further. Snake's mouth twitched before he touched his earpiece,

"Ocelot… We're done here."

* * *

 _ **Seychelles Waters**_  
 _ **Medical Platform**_  
 _ **200 Hours**_

 ** _2 days later..._**

Snake sat on the bed of his room in the hospital of the Medical Platform, smoking from his phantom cigar using his bionic hand while his remaining good arm remained in a sling and his upper torso was bandaged tight from the shattered shoulder blade and collarbone. The mission was complete, Quiet was freed from the English Strain, but she was right. Cipher was still after her. Even though he wanted to protect her, he knew she could handle herself, but she was one of his and he was determined to bring her back home. Only time will tell. Snake looked at the vase of white flowers favored by the Boss and Big Boss, compliments of the female staff of Diamond Dogs. Snake didn't mind them after having Big Boss's memories of how and why he liked this type of flower. Wanting some fresh air, Snake stepped out of his room and out onto the deck. Continuing smoking his phantom cigar, it wasn't until he looked at the adjacent door. Curious he walked through it seeing that there was an occupied room at the end of the hall. Descending the corridor, Snake pressed the red button opening the door, who he saw was someone sitting on the bed reading a book by Ramón Gálvez Mena. A female by the looks of it and she had a recognizable scar on her abdomen.

When she removed the book from her sight she looked up at her visitor, "Snake?" She asked.

Snake blinked with confusion, "Paz?"


	3. Chapter 3

**_WARNING! This contains Spoilers!_**

 ** _DISCLAIMER: The Metal Gear Franchise are all owned by Hideo Kojima!_**

 ** _P.S: Fuck Konami!_**

 **Metal Gear Solid V:** **The Phantom Pain** **  
** **The Lost Episodes**

Chapter 3  
"Memories of Militaires Sans Frontières"

Venom Snake was confused when he saw Paz's face, a girl who was supposed to be dead. Snake remembered the day Paz's body was ripped to shreds when the bomb had detonated and Snake had remnants of her teeth and bone embedded in his body and skull during the explosion. That scar on her abdomen, Snake had operated to remove the bomb while she was awake through the whole thing. He never forgot the girl's pain as he reached inside of her belly to pull out the ounce of C4. Snake dropped the phantom cigar in utter shock onto the floor, taking a few steps backward as the girl continued to stare and smile at him.

With Big Boss's memories, he felt as if he knew her the entire time before that night, "Paz?!" Snake gasped.

"That's right, it's her." Ocelot's voice intruded and came into the room.

Snake continued to doubt on the whole scenario, Paz was a ghost of a man's past and yet the girl sitting there on the bed was indeed her. Snake remembered Paz as a triple agent, a student of peace and agent of Cipher and the KGB hellbent on destroying MSF with Metal Gear ZEKE.

"What about the bomb?" Snake asked, remembering that day during the fall of MSF.

"You were able to remove the explosives, _both_ of them." Miller said walking in after Ocelot.

Paz suddenly stood up looking panicked, "Bomb?!"

"No, no, no, no. It's OK!" Snake waved.

"There's another in my...!" She paused hugging herself as It all went back to that day... nine years ago.

 _Big Boss pleaded with Paz to stay calm on that chopper after removing the bomb._

 _"It's alright. We got it out." He assured._

 _Paz had tears streaming her face when she stood on the ledge of the chopper's hatch after opening it, "There is another... in my..."_

 _Big Boss was on the radio with Kaz getting an update on the "Visitors" back on Mother Base, saying that, "The guided tour will be wrapped up by the time you get home."_

 _"Make me proud." said Big Boss._

 _"By the time they leave, I'll have the IAEA praising us as the poster boys for world peace. Out."_ _Big Boss looked back at Paz he had the bad feeling..._

 _"Somethings not right, check her again."_

 _Adrian nodded pressing down on Paz's stomach on a spot below her belly button, feeling something embedded inside of her womb, there was a second bomb in a place they didn't think to look._

 _"Boss..." Adrain called. Big Boss's expression took a grave turn as he hesitated to give the order and held Paz down. Adrian tightened his surgical glove, removing Paz's pants and undergarments. Adrian ordered Chico to stirrup her feet, and the medic took a deep breath and narrowed his fingers then proceeded to reach in. Paz squirmed and wailed with pain as the Combat Physician tried to fish out the bomb._

 _"Hold her down, damn it!" Adrian barked as Paz continued to scream!_

 _"STOP IT YOU'RE HURTING HER!" Chico cried._

 _"Kid, you want her to live!?" Adrian retorted. After some effort, Adrian_ _felt a hard surface embedded into her womb and proceeded to remove it until it was free. Paz's screaming calmed down enough for her to look as if she had passed out. Adrian handed Big Boss the second bomb, which he had also tossed out the cabin._ _Adrian removed his bloodied gloves, "Get her dressed, need to disinfect her wounds and start her on antibiotics."_

 _It was a few minuets in flight when Paz had a moment of short term memory loss and didn't realize the second bomb was removed. Big Boss continued to plead with Paz as she threatened to jump from Morhpo's chopper, "It's OK. The other bomb, we managed-" That's when Paz free fell from the chopper the moment Adrian's life changed forever, "NOOOOO!" Big Boss cried out after being held back by his trusted lieutenant._ _Adrian remembered, a chopper flying right next to them. One of the men inside held up a rocket launcher firing into the side of Morpho's chopper, then Adrian felt what felt like a colony of ants biting him all at once, only worse. Over 100 pieces of shrapnel was embedded into his body and skull._

 _That was when they crashed._

"She hit the water hard, but somehow she managed to survive." Miller explained, "Anyway, the shock triggered some kind of amnesia."

"Snake, where is Professor Gálvez?" She asked suddenly.

Snake blinked, turning to his left and right hands with utter confusion, "You mean..."

Miller nodded, "Yeah, she still thinks it's 1974. She's got no memory of anything before that, either. Cipher, the KGB, nothing."

"It looks to be a kind of dissociative disorder." Ocelot added, "Dissociative amnesia, where-"

"Where memories are blocked out to protect the mind..." The former Physician cut in, "and dissociative identity disorder, where the whole personality changes."

Ocelot nodded, "Yeah, well, what we're seeing seems to be a combination of the two. She truly believes she's nothing more than a student living in 1974."

"Peace Day was a lot of fun. I hope we can do it again!" Paz cheered up.

Miller limped right beside Snake leaning in, "She doesn't respond to anything that conflicts with her internal timeline. Doctor's pretty sure she's not faking it."

Snake was overwhelmed by this as all, but confusion was what plagued his mind, swimming with the possibility that Paz actually survived.

"If she had her memory, just think what she could tell us about Cipher." Miller said.

Snake was too lost in the photograph he found on the table next to him, a picture of Miller and Paz together while he played the guitar. Miller walked up from behind looking at the picture, he managed to let out a silent chuckle remembering the memory when it was taken. "That photo was from one of our men you brought back the other day, from the old crew. I thought it might jog her memory, but no luck. Anything else you could show her?"

Paz looked at the three men puckering her ears smiling, "You have something to show me Snake?"

Miller shook his head, "I give up, she's all yours. And there is something else if you got the time." Both Ocelot and Miller departed from the room.

"This photo, it is from the other day, right? I like it a lot." Paz spoke pointing to the picture in Snake's bionic hand, "I looked kind of silly but, it's got a peaceful feel to it. Peace Day was a lot of fun... everyone cheered at the end, even though I missed a few high notes. We should have more events like that, Snake." Suddenly Paz touched her forehead, "Oh, I'm sorry Snake, my head hurts..." She mumbled before laying down on the bed.

Snake looked back down at the photo, Peace day...

 _It was Paz's big event that she prepared for everyone at Mother Base, everyone was having a good time, including Adrian who had snuck away from the celebration with a female MSF soldier, Dolphin. The two mercenaries had snuck away to have an intercourse in the barracks reside for first officers, there were no rules against relationships among the personnel after part of Big Boss's philosophy involved "Love can bloom on the battlefield" However, Dolphin and Adrian's relationship wasn't a romantic relationship so to speak, and t_ _They weren't the only ones either._

 _Dolphin remained on top of Adrian, the covers draped around them as she bucked her hips and Adrian thrusts his upwards, all Dolphin wore was her dog tags that jingled during their intimacy. Pleasured moans filled the quarters, sweat plastered their naked bodies and dripped in long lines, Dolphin ran her hands up her sides, over her average size breasts, up her neck, and through her buzz cut hairdo locking her hands together overhead, biting the skin of her bicep before she drew to an orgasm. After the big climax of their intimate moment on a day of celebration, both were fatigued and were left catching their breaths._

 _"You slay me, doctor..." She breathed falling forwards snuggling into his chest, "You slay me." She sighed happily._

 _Adrain chuckled, "Glad someone appreciates the term, I'm still a soldier to Big Boss."_

 _Dolphin snorted taking the pillow and playfully smothered him, "We're all soldiers, you git! Even the cooks."_

 _Adrian pulled the pillow away from his face, "You ruined it." He then playfully shoved her off him and sat up at the edge of the bed putting on his clothes. He heard Dolphin throw the covers off and he saw slender but muscular arms hug his chest from behind and she teasingly began kissing his neck, cooing seductively._

 _"Don't go." She purred._

 _Adrian rolled his eyes, "You know what will happen if we get caught, just look what happened to Miller."_

 _Dolphin sighed, "He got chewed out because he was nailing Armadillo's girlfriend, and Gazelle."_

 _"Accused him of sleeping with you and Elephant too._ _" Adrian added._

 _Dolphin shrugged grabbing her tank top and faced the senior officer, "Hmmm, If only the Boss knew that it was actually you!" She teased flashing her naked body one last time before replacing her tank top and fatigues. She picked up a small box, "Don't forget these." She tossed him the box of condoms, "Suprised you actually came prepared."_

 _"They are considered prescriptions you know. Just have to ask for them at the medical platform."_

 _Dolphin replaced her cap, "I'll keep that in mind." She winked before saluting him, "Sir!" She turned and walked out of the room._

Venom Snake removed himself from the memory looking back at Paz's sleeping form before walking out of the room to meet with Miller who waited for him just outside.

"There you are, there's something that regards the survivors from nine years ago." He said leading the Diamond Dogs commander through the corridor to the outside.

"How are they doing?" Snake asked.

"Depends, they've been stranded for nine years, suffering from PTSD. Most of them became hermits of the battlefield, causing mischief. Some hid themselves using Prototype stealth camouflage Emmerich had developed." Miller led Snake into another corridor walking up to the glass peering into the adjacent room of nine soldiers, MSF survivors.

"And now?"

"They need time, but there are three who passed psychiatrical evaluations. All they need is your stamp of approval."

"What about Paz?"

Miller looked at Snake like he was crazy or something, "What about her?"

Snake paused for a moment then suddenly shook his head, "Nothing..."

The door opened and three men marched out wearing nothing but boxer briefs, their dog tags jingled around their necks. They stood in attention and saluted their leader and held their hands behind their backs while staring into space. Venom Snake walked up to the three men looking at their hard focus after spending nine years wandering the lands. Snake read each name on their tags,

 _Carlos "Octopus" Rodriguez_

 _Vasily "Hammerhead" Anisimov_

 _Connor "Salamander" Jacobs_

"Tell me about them..." Snake said.

"Both Salamander and Hammerhead have combat expertise, but Octopus doesn't. Salamander is former SAS, and he specializes in automatic weapons dubbing him the Machine Gun Kid amongst men in MSF. Hammerhead is former Spetsnaz, he's also known as Shotmaker for his likeness in his heavily customized Riotgun which was also found on him."

"I remember..." Snake chuckled, "What does Octopus do then?"

"Rodriguez! Front and center!" Miller barked.

Octopus stepped forward and stomped his right foot in attention.

"Alright, son, show him." Miller ordered.

Octopus flinched with hesitation before reaching up to his face and literally pulled it off, hair and all. His face was pale white and had minor defects, a flat nose, and small ears appearing as if he lacked any. Miller took his mask and held it up for Snake to see,

"Made from animal skins, a perfect representation of the Hispanic ethnicity. Eyes, the nose, the mouth are all spot on. That's not all, we found much more on him. Different races, different face structures, this man lives up to his name, camouflaging himself like an Octopus."

Snake stepped closer to Octopus, "Impressive."

"That's not all, he can also mimic other voices."

Snake turned, "Even their voice?"

 _"Even their voice."_ Octopus mimicked, perfectly representing Snake's voice.

Snake smirked, "Fall in line soldier."

Octopus saluted and fell in line.

"You are survivors, you are Militaires Sans Frontières. Though the name is gone along with Mother Base and our comrades, it still lives in all of us for we are still Soldiers Without Borders. An Army without a Country. Because of your skills, you have survived nine years. As of today, you have earned my undying respect. You are all diamonds, we are Dimond Dogs."

* * *

 ** _The Next Day..._**

The Diamond Dogs stood in attention in their dress uniforms and berets as the awards ceremony commenced, jets and choppers flying overhead. Ocelot, Miller, and Venom Snake stood on the stage in front of the three honored men for their distinguished service to Militaires Sans Frontières. Each stood in their new dress uniforms and berets saluting with a brand new golden Distinguished Service Cross on their uniforms. Snake returned the salute with his bionic hand while the only good arm remained in a sling.

"Remember this day, my friends. The day where you live for your fallen comrades, this day you will continue to live as MSF. You are true diamonds polished anew. As of today, you are Diamond Dogs." Each man had the Diamond Dogs insignia on their left shoulder shining with a small diamond below the lettering, pressed from the ashes of the fallen. They were also the only ones who possessed the MSF patch on their right in their honor.

"But as of today, because of your unique skills you are one of the first of the Diamond Dogs Force Operation X; The FoxHOUNDS."

On their berets, they all possessed the FOX insignia, as part of an elite team of the finest Diamond Dogs. They would be the first three to be given the honor because of their determination, service, and skills. As FoxHOUNDS. After about a week since stopping the assassination being carried out by Quiet, Snake spent time with Paz showing her a bunch of photos from the old mother base. They were good memories for both of them, remembering the good times before the attack. The fishing, the swimming, the parties she used to throw for everyone. Even as going far as to get a cat that became the base's mascot. Little Nuke, like DD.

Dr. Strangelove, Huey, Cécile, Amanda, Chico, It was hard to believe that they were all gone either dead or on their own. Paz kept giggling at the small memories and for once, Snake shared the laughs with her. It wasn't until Paz stared into space blankly.

Snake stood up, "Paz?" He waved a hand in her face.

She blinked, "S-Snake?"

"She's been acting different lately." Ocelot said walking in, "Before she'd respond to conversation, so long as it didn't conflict with her timeline. But now nothing gets a reaction from her."

"What happened?" Snake asked.

Ocelot shook his head, "No idea." After a moment of silence, Ocelot rubbed his chin and sighed, "Well, Miller did tell her that Skull Face is dead. If anyone should want revenge against him, it would be her, but, it's not like and Angel of Peace to cheer for somebody's death, now is it?" His spurs clinked as he stepped forward and knelt down to her level, "Take a look at this, too." Ocelot removed Paz's arms covering her abdomen and she layed down, "See it? Right there."

Snake blinked repeatedly, "Her wound is open?"

"Yeah. It was closed up, but then it went back to this."

"Why?"

Ocelot frowned, "The doctors has no idea how it happened. Figured it might have been self-inflicted..." Ocelot bowed his head leaving the room. Snake left the room afterwards walking along the walkway before hitting away at his phantom cigar allowing the perception of time to fly by awhile. After the sun had set and had some time to think over this ordeal with Paz, Snake returned to her room. When he entered he suddenly saw Paz with her back turned and he can see her doing something to her stomach.

"Stay away!" She cried.

"Paz?!" He saw blood drip to the floor.

She turned, "Bomb! There's-" He removed her hands and her intestines began to spill out from the open wound, "There's another!" She suddenly reached inside her stomach crying out in pain fishing for the bomb. Snake stumbled backward watching and the phantom pain in his left hand had worsened. More blood pooled at Paz's feet as she then pulled out the bomb with its red light blinking and the symbol for peace stamped on the back" She then fell back.

"NOOOOO!" Snake reached out for her then it all flashed back to that night when she really did die in the explosion.

Snake blacked out.

He suddenly woke up on the balcony with his phantom cigar in between his fingers. Confused, he stood on his feet looking into the sea and around Mother Base. He then saw a butterfly fly into his view. The butterfly had landed on the wall with the symbol for peace tagged onto it and below it was written, _Peace_! The butterfly flew off the wall and right back at Snake provoking him to grab the butterfly with his bionic hand. When he opened his palm, the butterfly wasn't there, but neither was the phantom pain. For months, he had lived with it, the pain that had haunted him since he had awoken from his coma. These visions of Paz was a mystery for the Diamond Dogs commander, but atlas he looked out into the Seychelles waters, feeling the sea breeze on his face. He felt the cold material of his bionic arm and fore once there was nothing to feel in it anymore.

The phantom pain was gone. It was almost as if this was what he needed, closure. Was it For Adrian or was it for Big Boss? No one knows, but Paz really did achieve something that was good for a change. Paz may have given Snake the last of what she had possessed before the end, Peace.

 _"Boss!"_ Miller's voice called, Snake snapped out of his trance looking down to the main level.

"What is it Kaz?"

Miller's face was grim and pale, "We got a problem!"

* * *

 ** _December 4th, 1974_**  
 ** _10 years earlier..._**

 ** _The Caribbean Sea, Militaires Sans Frontières Mother Base_**  
 ** _Command Platform Level 1, Warehouse 02, Room 021_**  
 ** _0600 Hours..._**

Big Boss and Kazuhira Miller stood over the Soviet soldier sitting on the chair in front of them with his hands bound behind the seat and had a black sack over his head. Miller motioned for the guard to remove the sack and splashed the soldier with water, waking him up. Adrian jerked his head up spitting out the water and coughed a few times before blinking his eyes and meeting the two men's gaze. The room was dim but he knew this kind of environment, Adrian only huffed and began chuckling soundly making Miller look to the Boss with confusion. Adrian as cocky as he was finally lifted up his head eyeing the Big Boss carefully.

"Welcome to Outer Heaven." Big Boss broke the silence.

Adrian heaved out a heavy sigh of defeat, he failed the motherland again and a simple order from his commanding officer/foster father. The only way he could redeem himself was to withstand an interrogation and possible torture. He could at least die with some dignity, he was a doctor and he had the knowledge on how much an average human can endure even with the Spetsnaz training factor. Adrian had faced death once already and he never feared of it again since that day, it only opened his eyes to the bigger picture, that death wasn't the end, it was only the beginning. Yet Adrian continued to sit bound to a chair in a dimmed room with the legendary Big Boss waiting for the postponed inevitable.

"I don't know shit, you're wasting your time." Adrian said, casting his gaze from their sights.

"We're not here to interogate you." Big Boss nodded to Miller, the XO pulled out a folder and proceeded to read it, pacing around the young medic carefully.

"Adrian Zhdanov Gurlukovich aka G-n KH (Mr. X), Age 25. Graduated from Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia in Saint Petersberg at the age of 16 with an IQ over 140. Multiple medical degrees majored in medicine and surgery and a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry. Joined the Soviet Army at age 18 as a combat medic under the command of foster father Captain Sergei Gurlokivich."

Miller adjusted his aviators as he continued onto the next page. "Disciplinary record, surprisingly longer than your service record; Getting into fights with other soldiers, kicking the general in the-" Miller stiffened a chuckle before continuing, "Insubordination and AWOL." He finishes before leaning near Adrian's ear. "You were stationed on the Prison facility on Cuba as _punishment,_ was it?"

Adrian glared at Miller with his hazel colored eyes. "Yeah, I was there." Adrian seethed, surprisingly, however, his Russian accent was suddenly gone.

Miller's brow quirked from behind a lens of his aviators, "Well now, no accent this time _comrade_?" Miller taunted.

"Your birth certificate mentions that you were born in California. Meaning you were raised there before defecting to the Soviet Union and attended college before joining the army. Your biological father was Russian wasn't he? KGB as a matter of fact, executed for treason by acting as an informant for a CIA operative, your mother." Big Boss added.

"Kinda romantic don't you think? A man and woman on opposing ends of the Cold War falling in love." Miller said.

"You don't know dick about my family!" Adrian vented causing the room to go silent before Big Boss broke the silence once again.

"And You know why you're here now?"

Adrian fixed his gaze on the leader of MSF, "Do I have a choice?" He asks.

"That's up to you." Big Boss replied, walking closer to the medic, "Militaires Sans Frontières, it's French for _'_ _Military without frontiers'_ , we are soldiers without borders. We fight not for country, but ourselves. You have heart _Saladin_ I'll give you that, but you have a lot to learn. If it wasn't me you met back there, you would be dead, court marshaled or worse."

Adrian cocked an eyebrow, "If it wasn't THE Big Boss, he'd be dead."

Big Boss knelt down to Adrian's level, "One rule of combat, Doctor. Don't monologue."

Adrian scoffed, "Why are you even talking to me? What do you really want with me?"

Big Boss pulls out his knife holding it up to Adrian's face before reaching behind him to cut the bonds to his hands. "MSF can use a soldier like you." He says before walking towards the exit. Miller encouraged Adrian to follow as he rubbed at his sore wrists.

"Why should I consider helping you?" Adrian called, meeting Big Boss in the corridor.

"Someone once said that 'Earth itself has no boundaries. No East, No West, No Cold War. And the irony of it is, the United States and the Soviet Union are spending billions on their space programs and the missile race only to arrive at the same conclusion. In the 21st century, everyone will be able to see that we are all just inhabitants of a little celestial body called Earth. A world without communism and capitalism.' It's the very thing we are trying to accomplish here." Big Boss explained.

Miller flashed the insignia on his shirt, "This symbol is a vision, a would united. Like Pangea, back when the world was a single land mass."

Adrian shook his head slowly, "And what could you people possibly gain from this?"

Big Boss had lit a cigar, "Freedom, from everything. It's that simple."

"Freedom is never simple." Adrian seethed, looking both men dead in the eyes. "It always comes with a price, it only breeds war and chaos. It's happened to America and Russia, how much are you willing to sacrifice for your so called utopia? Honestly how long will your so called Heaven will last?" Neither Big Boss or Miller rose to speak against him.

"You're right, I don't know how long. They can try and stop us, but it won't stop us from growing." Big Boss assured.

"Who's _they_?" Adrian asked.

"People with the real power, more than the US, even Russia. The Cold War is just a smoke screen for people like you, but for us we know what's at stake here. For the Boss it's personal, but for the rest of us, it's business. We're mercenaries, nothing more." Miller explained.

Adrian found that thought intriguing, to say the least.

"And the facility? What's so special about that place?" Adrian asked. "It's just a shipyard."

Miller shook his head, "We suspect there may be more to the base than meets the eye, the sniper team we were hired to eliminate showed that they were more afraid of the base than death itself." Miller said. "You notice anything suspicious since being stationed there?"

Adrian chuckled, "So that's why I'm here? To know if there is any conspiracy at the facility?"

Miller got in Adrian's face, "You're here because the Boss sees something in you, as for me I don't trust you one bit, but I stand by the Boss' decision."

"Enough, Kaz. I think you made your point." Big Boss interrupted. "You want to know the full story, meet us in Briefing tomorrow then see if you are willing to stay and prove that I'm right about you, that you're a soldier." Big Boss turned to their escort, "Show him to the barracks, food and water too."

The escort saluted and motioned for Adrian to walk ahead of him, Adrian was reluctant to obey but he did so anyway. Adrian was amazed on how big the forward operating base was, he didn't even know the base was out on the ocean far from the nearest mainland. Adrian was driven from the command platform all the way to the Barracks where the escort showed him to his bunk. Adrian had the rest of the day to work out the pros and cons to a decision to stay with MSF or go back to the facility and carry out his orders. But the most incriminating factor was the XO's talk about a higher power and the suspicions of the Naval Base having a sinister background, he would know more the following day but until then he will sleep on it.

* * *

 ** _Present Day..._**

"Boss... We have another outbreak. Only this time it's not us, it's our _'competition'_ In the Southern Ocean." Milelr explained.

"What do you mean competition?" Venom Snake asked.

"Ever since the fall of MSF, private forces have been starting a version of their own in the coming war economy. We have intercepted a message, an SOS."

"Why us?"

"Diamond Dogs has come a long way since you woke up, Boss, we racked up enough clients to have our name in ears on four continents. Everyone knows who we are now and business is good, too good."

"So how bad is it?" Snake asked.

"Well, it's obvious these guys didn't come prepared. Only it's worse, it's nothing like we've had in the past. It looks like another mutation from the disease. Their forward operating base is lost, the personnel suffering a fate worse than death."

"What the hell is going on, Kaz? I thought we got rid of the disease."

"Code Talker suspects to be a mutation of the English Strain, though he can't be sure until he's had some tests, and that's the problem."

"The English strain?"

"That could only mean one thing..."

Snake nodded, "Eli, He's back."

"We don't know that for certain, boss. But it is possible, but we can also count those other kids, they may never have spoken the language, but they still must have spread the disease, if they managed to find their way off the island." Miller explained.

"Eli must be coordinating them, sending them to infect other PFs."

Miller nodded in agreement, "Like PFs with anti-child soldiers policies. The brat's plotting an insurrection against PFs in spite of us."

"Not us, Big Boss, and Cipher." Snake corrected.

"Whatever the cause, we need to put a stop to this before it spreads. Who knows who managed to escape that facility knowing whether or not he was infected. This could cause a global epidemic. What Code Talker needs is a body to identify this new mutant strand. God, by watching the message it's like Night of the Living Dead. If you go on this mission boss, you don't want to go alone."

"I'll take care of it, assemble the FoxHOUNDS, we're going in." Snake decreed, "Time for their first mission."

* * *

 ** _2400 Hours..._**

Venom Snake and his unit boarded the chopper. The three men had matching sneaking suits and bandanas making it the official gear of the Diamond Dogs's FoxHOUNDS. Miller and Ocelot stood on the helipad watching the chopper take off. Ocelot gave a quick wave while Miller nodded his head at them, but they suddenly jumped when a figure formed out of thin air and held onto the side of the chopper before Snake had the chance to close the door. Giving Miller and Ocelot a quick glance, Quiet had stepped into the cabin and sat next to Snake after she closed the door. The three FoxHOUNDS were confused but never asked. Snake however just stared at her blankly and Quiet had a smile forming at the corner of her mouth before looking back out the window crossing her legs.

"Good to have you back Quiet!" Pequod called. Quiet returned the helicopter pilot a smile and a firm nod, from beside her she slowly clasped Snake's bionic hand leaving him oblivious to the fact.


	4. Chapter 4

**_WARNING! This contains Spoilers!_**

 ** _DISCLAIMER: The Metal Gear Franchise are all owned by Hideo Kojima!_**

 ** _P.S: Fuck Konami!_**

 **Metal Gear Solid V:** **The Phantom Pain** **  
** **The Lost Episodes**

Chapter 4  
"Biohazard"

 ** _Pakistani border, Pakistan_**  
 ** _Two Days Earlier..._**

Venom Snake was caught in a one on unit firefight with XOF after single-handedly rescuing a high-class POW kept under Cipher's surveillance. However, as persistent as XOF can be even after Skull Face's death, they still continued their personal vendetta against the Diamond Dogs. Snake remained trapped behind a boulder with the target, running low on ammo, and Pequod was still minutes away from the landing zone. XOF troops began moving in popping off a few shot at Snake's cover to keep him there to flank his position. It wasn't until one of the troopers' head suddenly exploded into a bloody mess when a sniper shot rang out of nowhere. They all began to shoot in all directions when one by one they were all picked off single-handedly by a shot to the head. Snake peaked over the boulder to see that the battle was over. By his very own ' _guardian Angel'_ no doubt.

 _"This is Pequod, arriving shortly at LZ!"_ Snake's radio crackled.

Snake saw the Vanguard Sniper appear, kneeling with her rifle in hand. Both had locked eyes from the distance before the sound of the chopper's blades broke their focus. Snake picked up the target and looked back up towards the ridge, she was gone. Snake heaved a deep sigh as he proceeded to the chopper and placed the target safely inside, but instead of climbing in, Snake walked back a few feet from the chopper and looked around once more before feeling a presence behind him.

"What's the point of staying away if you keep following me?" Snake asked.

Quiet had appeared out of thin air crossing her arms with her rifle slung on her shoulder, "I knew Cipher would meet you here." She spoke.

"Is that the only reason?"

Quiet frowned looking away. Snake took her silent answer and began walking back to the chopper, before entering the cabin he glanced over his shoulder, "Last chance to come home." He called. Quiet hung her head for a moment, but she suddenly vanished. Snake didn't bother to linger a moment longer for her as he climbed into the cabin.

 _"Gaining Altitude!"_ Pequod announced as the chopper took off. Just as Snake was about to shut the door he could hear silent footsteps behind him, he didn't look back as he knew that she was there in the cabin. Only keeping to her name and staying out of sight.

* * *

 ** _Over the Southern Ocean_**  
 ** _0100 Hours_**

 ** _Present Day..._**

The vibrations and thumping of the rotor blades of the helicopter thrummed loudly through the troop compartment. The occupants sat in tense silence, the atmosphere solemn as they readied themselves for the mission. Quiet continued to hold Snake's bionic hand for well over an hour without him realizing. She kept staring out into the ocean in the blackest of night, with the pale moonlight dancing off the surface of the water. The entire ride over to their mission destination she kept reflecting on her feelings for Snake, her target, her _perfect_ enemy. But he wasn't her target, he wasn't even THE target Cipher had sent her to assassinate. She could see it in his eye, his hazel-colored eye. His scalp was showing his platinum blonde buzz, almost looking pure silver in color. This man sitting beside her was different, it was evident that she feels something for him, she just can't put it into words. Only the question remained in her head, does he feel something for her? If she only knew.

When the base came into view Snake saw that there was no power, it was completely dark. Snake had a very bad feeling creeping up on his shoulders, Quiet and the others were also disturbed by the sight alone. When Pequod turned on the searchlight, nothing came into view on the first deck, giving him the OK to land the chopper.

When the chopper touched down, Snake grabbed the handle cabin door and pulled it open. "Move out!" Everyone but Octopus stepped out of the chopper and into the chilled night air, wearing face masks, even Quiet to be on the safe side while battling the infection once again.

Snake looked up at the sky, knowing that with the level of clouds and moisture in the air, along with the smell of wet concrete meant that a storm was coming. Snake had turned on the flashlight attachment on his rifle letting the beam of light cut through the darkness of the Base. Pequod along with Octopus wielding the chaingun had hovered back into the air and began circling the base with the searchlight to detect and report any signs of life.

"Fan out and Investigate the deck, I want this area secured. Quiet on me!" Snake ordered. Salamander and Hammerhead nodded activating their night vision goggles and scouted left of the first deck while Quiet and Snake headed right. Snake swept his gun barrel from side to side, his eye scanning for movement while his ears strained to pick up anything among the darkness.

"That rifle might not be much of use in close combat," Snake pulled out his sidearm and held it towards Quiet, "Here." Quiet refused it by pulling out a machete, the same wielded by the Skulls, "Suit yourself." Snake replaced his weapon.

He knew what was out there remembering the events of the Quarantine Zone back at Mother Base. The fact that he knew he might have to put people down was causing an unsettling feeling to form in his gut. But he knew that the people of this base wasn't his men this time and that he could do the humane thing and not let them suffer without any negative impact on his psyche. After searching another area of the deck, Quiet suddenly stopped the both of them and waved for Snake to shine a light at that mount in the distance. When Snake aimed the light, laying on its roof was a dark-green military jeep with PF's insignia painted on the side. Two bodies could be seen among the wreckage, both wearing military gear. One pinned beneath the jeep itself, the other thrown a few meters away.

The squad converged on the scene and began to look everything over. Snake knelt down by the body that was pinned under the jeep. The neck and upper half of the man looked like it had been torn into by a meat grinder, blood splattered across the concrete and the vehicle's interior.

"This was no accident." Snake murmured. The darkness was bad, but the silence was even worse, "The deck looks clear. Let's search inside and work our way up. We regroup on the ground floor." Both Salamander and Hammerhead nodded, "Pequod, this is Ahab, We're going inside, there looks to be a storm heading this way, be careful up there."

 _"Copy that, be careful down there, Boss. I have a bad feeling about this."_

"That makes both of us, out." His radio crackled before they headed to the first building of the deck. Snake felt a drop of water land on his almost bare scalp, looking up at the dark skies as more rain began to fall around them. Quiet wasn't able to enjoy the moment as she was about to head inside with the Diamond Dogs. Weapons ready as he glanced back at his team who nodded at him, letting him know they were ready as he pulled the powered down half open magnetically sealed door all the way open. The metal grinding softly as it slid along the tracks allowing them access.

The first thing that greeted them was the sight of blood, a lot of it. Caking the corridors and carpeting the floors with bloody foot and hand prints. It looked like a slaughter-house. But with no bodies anywhere to be seen.

Snake touched the blood along the corridor walls, "It's still fresh, stay on your guard." Snake pointed to Salamander and Hammerhead, "You two take the left again, We'll take the right, stay sharp!"

Both Quiet and Snake searched the right corridor entering the first room they came across, Snake had put on the goggles to detect anybody with symptoms they would come across. During their search while sweeping his weapon around for anybody, or anything hostile. However, like Snake had expected, this room had bodies. Both Snake and Quiet had continued the search of the room slowly just as the sound of whispering was heard through the silence, a soft whisper that cut through the air like a knife. Walking towards the sound, Snake saw a Walkman playing _The Man Who Sold The World_ at a low volume.

Then he suddenly saw someone slowly rise from the floor, his jaw twitched, then the head shifted a bit to the right. Snakes goggles showed that he was infected. Mouth and eyes dripping with blood, the soldier raised his arms and began to shuffle toward Quiet and Snake. Snake shined the light into the soldier's eyes and Snake blinked in confusion when the man's eyes didn't react. Snake put a bullet into his leg, but he kept coming.

"Damn it!" Snake then shot the attacker in the head, killing him.

A groan had come from behind Quiet, provoking her to turn and deliver a powerful spin kick to the undead's chest sending him across the room, slamming into the wall. Another after another rose from the ground, and Snake aimed his rifle and shot dead the first while Quiet had severed the head of the second with her machete.

"They weren't like any Puppets I've seen before! What happened to them?!" Snake asked.

Quiet looked at the dead body, only shaking her head in response.

"Must be the English Strain, mutating like Code Talker suspected. We can't let this spread outside the base!" Snake touched his earpiece, "Come in Salamander, and Hammerhead, put down any infected you see, they may appear to be stronger types of Puppets, only a shot to the head can put them down for good, stay sharp men." The radio crackled.

Snake nodded to Quiet and the re-entered the dark corridor. Two more doors were adjacent to the room they were in and Snake motioned for Quiet to take then next while he searched the other, Snake had never been in the field with this much silence, there was nothing but cold dead silence. The room was filled with dead bodies of PF personnel, the whole sight alone reminded him of that day back at Mother Base. Snake's goggles picked up no visible signs of infection from the dead, thinking the room was completely searched snake turned to meet a barrel of a Desert Eagle. Snake saw the wielder stand there covered in blood and had a mask on, he wore a green tank top and camo pants tucked into combat boots, in his left hand was a bloody boomerang.

"Who are you?" His raspy voice spoke from behind the mask.

Snake lowered his weapon, "Snake."

The mercenary tilted his head, "Ah, Diamond Dogs. Took you sweet time, no?"

Snake removed his goggles, "Just take it easy, we're not infected."

The mercenary cocked the hammer of his weapon, "And how would you know, hm?"

Snake sighed, "Quiet, put the rifle down..."

The mercenary quirked an eyebrow, "Who the hell is Quiet?" He jumped when Quiet appeared out of the air aiming the barrel of her rifle right at his head. The Mercenary immediately gazed at her then slowly gazed at her chest, "Didn't see you there, darling. That's a nice trick." Quiet fixed his gaze when she used the barrel of her rifle to lift his chin back up casting his gaze to her face. The Mercenary chuckled looking back to see Snake holding the slide of his weapon in his hand. "Meh, guns are useless anyway." He said tossing the dismantled weapon aside.

"I know who you are..." Snake said.

"Yeah?"

"You're the one they call Dirty Duck, only you carry a children's toy into battle. But you excel at it, you're also a former sleeper of the Egg Plant terrorist cell."

"Oh, and I've heard all about you _Big Boss_. You're one of the reasons I became a mercenary."

"What happened here?" Snake asked.

Duck shrugged, "It all started when we brought that kid onto the base. Soon after that some of the personnel got sick and suddenly we have an outbreak going around turning people psycho and started killing each other."

"What happened to the kid?"

"Hell if I know, I just work here."

"Quiet..." Quiet lowered her rifle and shouldered it, "We need to know how all this started, you don't want this disease to spread outside this base, trust me. Where was the kid when you brought him in?"

Duck shrugged his shoulders, "You can try the hospital. Little brat didn't look so good when he first came here."

"Any chance he was African?"

"Yeah, he was."

 _'Must have been one of Eli's boys...'_

"How do we get there?" Snake asked.

"The base has a tram system that'll be much quicker, the problem is is that there's no power." Duck explained.

"We'll just have to find a way, we'll need a guide."

Duck huffed, "Well, I ain't sticking around with these cannibals any longer."

"We need to get moving," Snake said checking his rifle's ammo clip before replacing it, "The longer we stick around, the longer it'll take for more of those things to show up."

Getting nods from the other two, they started to get moving when Snake's radio crackled. Pequod's voice could be heard over the ocean of static, _"...you copy?..._ torm _getting worse...Ahab..."_

"Pequod, you're breaking up." he said moving to the window hoping for better reception seeing that a thunderstorm had settled in already.

 _"...dangerous out here...heavy winds...turbulence...stay out here..."_ came the pilot's words after the line went dead from the storm.

"Damn it! Communications are down." Snake cursed.

A loud crash resounded from up the stairs behind them, their guns aimed at the ceiling as the sounds of footsteps echoed followed by hysterical laughing. Slow and even, then they just cut off suddenly.

"What the fuck was that?" Duck whispered peering around the corner into the corridor, seeing the stairway leading up a level, "These stairs lead to the barracks, but I was just up there a few minutes ago, it was empty."

"Not anymore." Snake said pulling out his sidearm along with his knife into a CQC stance, "I'll go check it out, you go with Quiet and find the others. Meet me at the tram, and find a way to get the power on." Quiet looked to want to say something when he stopped her first, "I'll be fine..."

Snake headed down the corridor aiming his pistol towards the stairway before ascending them. Snake halted when he heard shattering glass and more laughter getting louder and louder as he came close to the room that was emitting light, casting a shadow of a person. Dead bodies lied in their own pools of blood by the doorway, not looking to get up anytime soon. Snake can hear someone slicing at something when he entered the room seeing a lone Mercenary lean over a corps speaking in riddles.

"I can hear them sing to me... soon... we'll be part of the change." The Merc spoke laughing maniacally.

"Hey!" Snake called out, "We're here to help, we got your message."

The Merc slowly turned and Snake almost flinched at the sight of The Merc caked with blood and with him slicing at a body with a piece of glass that cut deeply into his hand, "Oh... Big Boss? Wow... You! You have shown me the way... my true path. Now they're a part of me, they speak to me, they sing to me, all I have to do is... talk... talk to them... it's beautiful, Big Boss. I'm a true soldier of the cause..." The delusionary Merc had opened another door letting infected waltz in.

Snake jumped into action using CQC to toss one of the loose infected back into the room, colliding with the rest and shut the door, "No! This is not the way to help anyone!"

The Merc stepped back, "You're not a believer!? You refuse to see a higher power!? They call to me, telling me that you must be enlightened! Oh... I'll help you alright... You don't have the guts to purify your soul... Well, I have the guts! TO TAKE THIS ALL THE WAY!" He charged at Snake with the large piece of glass.

Snake used CQC to drive the glass away and eventually toss the delirious infected Merc to the floor. The Merc had got up to try slashing at him once more, but the CQC master had caused the Merc to drop the piece of glass only to headbutt Snake, hard. Snake fell to the ground and the Merc had kicked away Snake's gun and jumped on him to begin choking the life out of him while holding Snake's other hand carrying the knife down.

"I shall bless you with this gift, Big Boss! You'll feel better... trust me." He then made the move to take off Snake's mask.

But Snake reversed the chokehold by using his legs to wrap them around the Merc's neck and pull him off. The Merc untangled himself from Snake's legs and lunged up to drive himself back down at him. Snake made a fist with his bionic hand and aimed it at the Merc,

"Rocket Punch!" Snake commanded signaling a loud electronic beeping sound from his bionic arm. The fist had propelled from the air connecting with the Merc's jaw, stunning him. Snake then reached for his gun aiming it at his attacker and pulled the trigger. The 9mm round connected with the Merc's chest sending him to his knees.

"No..." He gasped out with blood running from his mouth. Snake then pulled the trigger once more, sending the bullet into the Merc's head this time. The Merc's body fell back onto the ground, giving him the peace he deserves from the terrible nightmare. Snake got to his feet, rubbing at his throat.

"What the hell have you done Eli?" Snake muttered.

* * *

Dirty Duck cursed every time his fingers would get zapped from trying to hotwire an electrical panel connecting to the power. Quiet would keep an eye on him while she scouted with the other, rifle in hand. Snake had been gone for a while, almost long enough for Duck to twist the final wire making the tram hum to life.

"There, done." Duck clapped his hands and Quiet cared so little for the success, "You don't talk much do you?" He asked the vanguard sniper while staring at her rear through the ripped leggings she always wore. Duck pretty much drooled over her body and looked away in time for her to notice, "Anyway, we should be leaving now." Quiet narrowed her eyes at the mercenary, flashing her Racoon Eye. Duck huffed with annoyance, "Whatever, freak." He muttered under his breath.

Words never hurt Quiet, physical, and mental pain was never a factor for her. She was a hard earned killer before her transformation, now she was an unstoppable killer with complicated emotions. That feeling in her gut that makes her aim shake, and her finger along the trigger hesitant, _Gratitude_. All for one man whom she was ordered to kill before it became personal. It was her mission at first, but then he saved her more times than she could count. After all that time, she could hardly understand it, and why he would go the lengths to find a cure for her. She could barely remember her past, where she had come from, who her parents were. Her only home was the battlefield and her best friend was the very rifle in her hands, Code Talker was much closer to a father, a hand to hold, a voice to help guide her on the right path. But the very path she yet walks on was her own doing, her own choice that was not bound to Cipher, the XOF, or Skull Face.

Quiet didn't flinch when an infected mercenary stumbled onto the duo with his skin gray and torn with milky white eyes. A groan of hunger emitting from his throat as he began staggering into the tram corridor after her. Quiet had remained focused at the ground with her rifle gripped in her hands, the barrel was facing outward, toward's the infected's direction. Without even looking, Quiet had blindly pulled the trigger. The following gunshot was coupled with the sound of the back of the mercenary's head exploding out like a fountain. Blood and gray matter had splattered across some boots on the feet of Venom Snake who had just descended the stairway. Quiet's Racoon Eye had vanished when she saw him, a faint look of relief on her expression.

"We good?" Snake asked while adjusting his bionic arm.

Duck nodded, "We should have enough power to get to the hospital. I would, however, instead get the hell off this base."

"Storm's getting worse unless you want to be at the bottom of the ocean the only way out it forward, and wait for it to pass before the chopper can land." Snake placed a hand on Quiet's shoulder as he passed by her. The three had boarded the tram, the light was calming and inviting as if it was the only source of light available in the word of darkness. Duck had approached the panel punching in a couple of key, trying to get the thing started. The car suddenly lurched, the sounds of mechanics kicking on as the floor vibrated through their feet as the transport started moving. Slowly at first, but quickly began to pick up speed with each passing second. Oddly enough the tram was heading in the wrong direction.

"The hell?"

"What's wrong?" Snake asked.

"I didn't even engage the transit yet, the hospital is ahead of us not back."

"Where's back?"

Duck went over the map being shown on the screen on the panel, "The R&D platform, but I didn't even hit the switch, better yet choose the destination."

"Then who did?"

"Someone must be at the other end of the tram."

Snake looked at the connecting door at the opposite end of the car, "Survivors?"

Duck shrugged, "Maybe..."

Suddenly muffled gunfire erupted, provoking Snake and the others to duck behind cover. They could hear screams and loud thuds two cars down and after a while they all stopped, everything was back to dead silence.

Snake took out his AM MRS-4, "On me."

Both Quiet and Duck followed behind Snake as they entered the next car. Flashlights spotted multiple dead mercenaries along the floor, and against the seats. When they reached the next door it slid open, The door clicked and slid open. The sound of the tram became a roar, the door opening into a heavily battle ridden car with most of the windows busted in, bullet casings along the floor. Looking toward the ground, they were greeted with the sight of two dead men lying face down before them. Their gear didn't match the PF's mercenaries. Snake had narrowed his eyes while he caught a glimpse of the patch on their arms.

 _XOF..._

"What the hell is Cipher doing here?" Snake muttered to himself.

"Who the hell is Cipher?" Dirty Duck asked looking at both Snake and Quiet who looked at each other.

"The enemy, XOF is their personal army."

"You think this disease has got something to do with them?"

Snake inspected the dead bodies, "They created the disease, makes sense they're here to collect their missing project. But the question is what got to these men?" Snake inspected further and pulled out a dead insect from the dead soldier's hand.

Duck knelt next to Snake, "Is that a European Hornet?"

Snake nodded his head, "There's more..." He pointed at several dead ones along the floor next to the empty shell casings. Quiet even pulled a couple of dead ones from around the shattered windows, "Must have been thousands of them that broke in." He reached for the dead soldier's balaclava and pulled it off to see his face covered in welts, Hornet bites.

"That's impossible, its plexiglass. Hornets aren't strong enough to break that."

Snake felt his gut twist, "I've seen something like this before..." He mumbled.

"Snake!" Quiet cried.

Duck tilted his head, "Oh, she does talk!"

Snake jumped up walking over to Quiet, "What is it?" He saw Quiet pull off a tarp showing a large device beeping and showing a time countdown from 20 minutes.

"There's enough plastic explosives to level an entire platform..." Snake announced.

Duck began to panic, "Oh no... no, no, no, no, no! Big Boss this tram's heading for the R&D platform! We got nuclear materials on there, we need to defuse that bomb!"

Snake cursed, "Radiation, that's what caused the mutation, Damn it! Eli had it all planned." He knelt down and looked over the device failing to see any means to defuse it.

"Let me in!" Duck said kneeling down, taking Snake's place, "Yeah... yeah, I can do this! It's gonna take some time."

"We don't have time!" Snake pointed out.

While Duck was working he suddenly looked around, "Don't you hear that? It sounds like some kind of music."

From out of nowhere, Snake suddenly heard sounds of a respirator coming from behind him. Snake jerked around aiming his weapon, but nothing was there. The respirator sounded again causing Snake to aim in Duck's direction seeing a red-haired boy with a gas mask, clad in a black straight jacket floating above Duck. Dirty Duck yelled out seeing the floating boy and crawled away,

"Jesus H. Fuck!" He exclaimed.

Quiet and Snake continued to aim their weapons at the boy who tilted his head and began to speak, "Big Boss..." His voice gasped with the mask's respirator, "We meet again at last."

"So Eli encouraged you to talk, huh? Thought that was taken from you a long time ago." Snake added.

The strange music began playing soundly throughout the car, he began waving his arms to the point when Quiet suddenly struggled with the rifle in her hands and suddenly aimed it at Snake's head, "Good girl, just like that." The boy gasped.

Snake's eyes widened, "Quiet what are you doing?!"

"S-Snake..." She struggled again, "I can't move!"

Snake used CQC to disarm her of her rifle and shove her away, "Quiet, stop it!"

Quiet's body seemed to struggle back up as if someone was controlling her, "Don't you want me, Snake?" She said suddenly.

"W-What?"

"Do you like me? Don't you love me?" Quiet asked walking closer to him and she cupped his cheek, "Don't you like me the way I like you, Snake?"

"Quiet... Stop this, this isn't you." Snake said taking her hand.

Quiet stepped back, "Huh?" Her voice suddenly changed into the boy's voice, "You don't like girls?"

Snake's eyes widened when Quiet suddenly delivered a spin kick sending Snake through the door.

Duck pulled out his boomerang and slashed once at Quiet, but all she did was grip him by the throat, "Pervert!" The boy's voice spoke through her before she slammed him once against the wall knocking him unconscious. Quiet's them began stretching her limbs seductively and rubbed at her skin, "I feel much better now..." She cooed.

"Quiet!" Snake's voice boomed, she turned seeing Snake aiming his Windurger, "I'm sorry..." He pulled the trigger.

An anesthetic needle had embedded into her chest followed by three more with Snake walking up closer to her with each shot before she collapsed to the floor unconscious.

"You!" The raspy voice cried out, "How are you keep resisting my power!"

Snake glimpsed at the floating boy, "Your tricks won't work on me." He knelt down to cup Quiet's cheek into his only hand and stroked it with his thumb as she slept.

"No! You haven't witnessed my true power in Psychokinesis and Telepathy, Snake... I am PSYCHO MANTIS!" The nose of the tram behind the boy suddenly blew away leaving only the bomb ticking away at his feet, the roar of the tram became much louder and the metal grinding along the tracks whistled in high pitches. Snake quick drawn his AM Delta sidearm and fired, but the bullet had zipped right passed the boy who had dodged it, "It's useless... I can now read your thoughts, Snake!" Mantis hovered out of the moving tram giggling, "Now, Adrian Zhdanov, you shall suffer in anguish beyond your imagination, you shall witness true Pain!" Mantis suddenly combusted into a cloud of swarming Hornets and formed into a figure standing upright in front of Snake.

"It can't be..." Snake gasped.

 ** _"PAAAAIN!"_** The gravely voiced roared.

Snake aimed his rifle and fired at the bundled Hornets, each bullet that was fired absorbed into the hornets while most of them dropped to the floor dead, but the Hornet figure began walking towards Snake in an intimidating manner. Snake quickly began strolling backward while emptying his clip until the weapon ran dry, he can hear the strange music intensifying as he reloaded his rifle. Snake put a few more rounds into the persistent Hornet figure and decided against wasting more ammo on it, he needed something stronger... Snake stepped over something, looking down he saw Quiet's heavily customized sniper rifle. Picking up the weapon, Snake pulled back the bolt loading a fresh round into the chamber and fired. The Hornet figure stumbled back with a large hole in its chest, followed by another after another until the clip of the rifle went dry. Snake dropped Quiet's rifle to the floor and reached to his belt to pull out a frag grenade, after pulling the pin he tossed the grenade into the Hornet figure's chest.

The grenade exploded sending thousands of Hornets to the ground, dead. The rest buzzed and hovered in a large cloud above Snake who shielded himself from the explosion. When Snake looked up, he saw the buzzing cloud beginning to swarm him, not before he pulled out a flash grenade and pulled the pin. Snake sat the grenade next to him, shielding his eye and ears. Even from behind closed eyes, there was a bright flash and a faint high pitch ringing sound pierced his ears. Snake opened his eye, now coated in dead and stunned Hornets. Snake had a few bites here and there, but he stood up moving towards his unconscious comrades, Duck began squirming as his consciousness was slowly returning. Mantis's respirator sounded again catching Snake's attention, the boy began waving his arms once more and Quiet began standing onto her feet.

"Quiet!" Snake reached out. Quiet's Racoon Eye appeared as she glared dangerously at him before she had leaped out of the gaping hole of the tram along with Mantis not before he laughed maniacally. Suddenly each Hornet dropped to the ground, dead and no longer under Mantis's control.

"Damnit!" Snake cursed.

 _*Tram jingles*_

 _"Approaching R &D Platform."_ The synthesised voice spoke.

 _The bomb!_

Snake sprinted to the bomb looking to defuse it, but it wasn't something he was a complete expert on. Dirty Duck was probably the one to go to, but he was still unconscious. Only 10 minutes left on the timer... The only thing left to do was escape, but the bomb would detonate the nuclear materials stationed in the R&D labs. Snake looked around him for something to use, the only thing that interested him was a length of rope and Duck's boomerang. Snake picked up the items, tying the rope to the boomerang. Running over to Duck he tried to wake him up the best he can,

"C'mon, get up!" Snake shouted.

Duck mumbled, "Huh? W-What's going on?" Snake had already pulled him into a fireman's carry.

"Just hang on tight!" Snake ordered before he went to the bomb and started shifting through the wires before griping all of them and tore them away. The time started speeding down from the remaining 10 minutes turning them into 10 seconds. Snake then started to climb onto the roof of the tram with Duck on his shoulders. The Sheer speed of the tram made things difficult for Snake to stand up straight with all the weight on him. With the makeshift grappling hook in his bionic hand, Snake took one deep breath and began swinging the boomerang and rope. Letting the line loose, Snake could see the rope tighten before his whole body was pulled from the roof of the tram.

3.

2.

1.

 _"Approaching R &D platform, have a nice day."_

*Boom!*

Snake and Duck were left dangling from the grappling hook in the middle of the service tunnel. Snake heard the loud explosion from the bomb sending a large blast wave through the tunnel making Snake and Duck sway from side to side violently, but Snake's bionic hand remained clenched around the rope tight. When the wave passed, Snake lets go of the rope sending both of them to the tracks below. Duck let out a pained yelp when he hit the ground, Snake sat up rubbing his back.

"Your girlfriend's a bitch..." Duck grunted.

Snake tugged on the dangling rope letting loose the boomerang and caught it. Snake offered Duck his hand and he lifted the mercenary onto his feet pressing the boomerang to his chest, "Let's go!"

"Well..." Duck rubbed his head, itching to remove the mask to breathe fresh air but he would be risking getting infected, "you stopped the tram, but it's going to be a long walk to, well, anywhere." Shadows of rubble were dancing along the walls from the firelight around the damaged tunnel where the bomb had detonated. The tramway along with the connecting bridge was completely severed. The outside rain already began putting out the surrounding fires.

Snake sighed, almost collapsing onto the ground before catching himself and sat down.

"You alright?" Duck asked.

"Give me a few minutes..." Snake mumbled.

"Who or what was that thing just now?"

"The floating boy...? That was Mantis, or so he calls himself. If he's here that must mean Eli is here too."

"Who's Eli?"

"The bastard." Snake said standing up.

Suddenly Snake's radio crackled, _"..._ oss _! Too_ muc _... interference... Come in!"_

Snake touched his earphone, "Salamander, is that you?!"

 _"We got surrounded by... We're_ headin _... mess..."_ The connection got severed.

Duck looked around the tunnel, "You won't get anything from in here, besides the storm looks like it hasn't let up."

"It sounded like they were heading to the mess hall."

"The mess hall is east of the platform we were just on. it's a long way back on foot."

Snake looked back at the fiery mess, "Might as well, no way going forward."

Duck sagged his shoulders, "Yeah, there's a maintenance shaft just up-"

The duo was suddenly interrupted when the fire behind them suddenly grew larger very soundly. The flames burned even brighter despite the rain when suddenly a figure emerged from flames. Both men started stumbling backward when suddenly two constructs of flames formed a face in mid-air, growling, and snarling. Snake tapped Duck on the shoulder provoking him to start running down the tunnel, with the sentient flames giving chase.

 _ **"FUUUURY!"**_ The voice boomed and echoed throughout the tunnel.

Snake had drawn his sidearm and fired a couple shots behind him, but nothing phased the flames. A large wall of fire followed by two large faces slowly closed in on both men. Snake felt the intensity of the heat along his back, burning the skin of his exposed neck like a bad sunburn. The fire suppression systems in the tunnel ceased to work from the lack of power leaving them defenseless. It wasn't until duck used his boomerang to strike each nozzle he came across, blasting the flaming faces with intense fire extinguishing coolant.

"Got any bright ideas, Big Boss?!" Duck shouted.

"Keep running!" Snake shouted back.

Suddenly Duck had tripped and slid across the ground. Duck found himself on his back facing the sentient flames that stopped right in front of him, the flames suddenly absorbed into a fiery figure. Duck's eyes widened as the figure held what looked like a flame thrower, and aimed it right at him. Duck subconsciously began crawling away waiting for his death. Duck's eye, however, caught a single red tank rolling up to both of them, then came Snake's voice,

"Hey!" Snake called out catching the figure's attention, Snake aimed his weapon at the tank and fired. The bullet punctured the tank sending pressurized air straight at the sentient flamed figure causing it to let out a low growl when it turned to steam and evaporated. The duo was left shrouded in total darkness provoking Snake to switch on his flashlight. Duck was still on the tracks, petrified...

"Get up, we need to move!" Snake barked.

"None of this bothers you does it?" Duck hopped to his feet, "Just what the hell have you gotten me into?!"

Snake looked over his shoulder, "If we make it through this, I'll tell you." Snake opened the maintenance tunnel door and walked on the other hand, looked back to where the wraith was, and let out a frustrated growl before running after the phantom.

* * *

 ** _Command-Platform, Mess Hall_**  
 ** _0210 Hours_**  
 ** _Mission Time: 1:31:01..._**

Turning to the double doors to the right of the corridor, his mind settled into a focused state and headed for it. Snake held up a closed fist halting Duck standing behind him with his boomerang in hand. Taking out his silenced sidearm due to the confined space, he switched on his NV Goggles and opened the one on the right. Raising his weapon the moment he was through the threshold. One of the three infected limping through the room dropped with a hole punched just above his right eye. He swung around and fired another round into one with a survival knife sticking out of his shoulder, blasting chunks of skull and blood on the table behind him. The last came at him a little faster than the others letting out a hight pitched howl and was within grabbing distance in seconds. Snake ducked under the cold, fingers grasping for his throat and shoved the tortured soul back several steps, raising his gun and drilling a hole right between his eyes.

Snake knelt down to the dead mercenary's side to inspect him further but failed to notice another infected stumbling into the room reaching for him.

 _?!_

Snake turned and saw the infected mercenary screeching and lunge for him when suddenly something zipped through the air, striking the mercenary across the head. A boomerang detoured into the wielder's hand, Duck had sprinted to him and drove his weapon down onto his fallen comrade's head killing him. After wiping the excess blood from his weapon, Duck held out his hand towards Snake, pulling him up when he accepted it.

"Now is about time to tell me what you know about this?" Duck asked.

Snake checked his ammo clip before replacing it, "Alright. This disease was manufactured by Cipher. It targets the vocal cords rendering them useless to speak a specific language, the only way to survive is to not speak that language at all. But this strain was meant to target the English language. It's obvious that the strain mutated from radiation, assuming from the nuke you're holding. The radiation is whats transforming your men into killers."

Snake noticed the look on Ducks face, he knew that it was a lot to take in and even so, Duck didn't believe any of it for one second, "So how do we stop it?" He asks.

"To be perfectly honest? Destroy the base along with everything in it."

"And risk fallout contamination from the nuclear materials we store here? Even in this storm the fallout can easily be carried to the nearest mainland."

The two men were interrupted when loud banging on the barricaded double doors rang out. A metal pipe was jammed into the handles, not long before it gave away and a group over about 10 infected personnel poured from it, coated in Hornets.

"Fuck. Me." Duck cursed.

Snake drew his rifle and tried shooting down the first infected, but no round penetrated the thick sheet of Hornets covering his whole body. Each infected let out pained wails and high pitch howls. The infected's right arm that remained covered in Hornets stretched out, causing each Hornet to build up on top of each other before snapping forward like a whip. Striking Duck in the chest knocking him on his back. The force knocking the wind out of him, but he regained his wits and rolled backward until he was on his feet in a crouch.

"Run!" Snake shouted aiming his rifle and firing short bursts into the being's torso. Each infected began sprinting at them provoking Venom Snake to start running as well.

During the chase through the corridors, Snake pulled out another frag grenade and pulled the pin blindly tossing it over his shoulder. An infected was caught in the blast sending him into the wall, hard killing him and hundreds of dead Hornets fell from the body. The rest were disoriented from the blast as well buying Snake and Duck enough time to round the next corner and barricade the set of double doors. Behind the silence, there was the familiar sound of a respirator coming from behind them. Duck and Snake jerked around seeing Mantis before he floated upwards and phased through the ceiling.

What caught them by surprise next, however, was the state of the mess hall they were in. The entire room was shrouded in webbing, not a single space left that was not. Duck got a face full of webs here and there when they stood right in the middle of the hall.

"Relax... This is another one of his tricks. It's not real." Snake assured.

 _*Whoosh!*_

Suddenly a small bolt had struck Snake in the leg sending him to the webbed floor.

"The hell?!" Duck cried before dodging bolts that were fired from the darkness, "Woah!"

 _*Maniacal Laughter*_

 _"Come into my web!"_ The voice slithered before rapid taps along the ground in the darkness drove a silver of fear down Duck's spine. He backed up against the wall almost screaming when he saw four bodies of XOF soldiers wrapped in webbing and hung upside down.

"Still think this is a trick, Big Boss?!" Duck shook.

Snake tried to stand but the bolt in his leg started to throb even worse. His heart was racing to the point where his vision was blurred and sweat peppered his face.

 _"The Boss's apprentice..."_ The voice hissed again.

Snake grunted from the pain, "You're... You're dead!"

 _"You can't kill me! Without fear, life is meaningless."_ The voice giggled.

Suddenly something had dropped from the ceiling and landed on all eight legs, _**"FEEEAAAAR!"**_ It roared.

"Not spiders... Why did it have to be spiders?" Duck shook.

The man's lower body was attached to the body of an arachnid, his head had risen with his tongue swishing from his mouth, crawling towards Snake with unnatural orange tinted eyes.

"That bolt is coated in the venom of the Brazillian Wandering Spider, Snake!" The Fear Hissed, "An old friend of yours, no? Ah... The fun we used to have."

Pain had engulfed his entire body, Snake began heaving for air when the venom worked into his system. Snake had already removed the bolt from his leg but his back arched when the venom had reached his nervous system.

 _"You have failed, Big Boss."_ The Fear seethed.

Snake had suddenly lost consciousness...

What felt like a bad dream Snake's eyes had opened. It was daylight out, the morning air breezing through the satin drapes. Snake could hear the ocean waves and seagull calls from the distance. For the first time in his life, Snake felt comfortable. He was laying on a comfortable mattress with the silk sheets draped up to his waist and he felt an arm wrapped around his midsection. The arm belonged to Quiet who lied completely bare beside him, her hair was down and a few of her brown locks her over her eyes. she had the faintest smile on her lips as she snuggled into his chest. Snake removed himself from her grasp and he stood up, dressing into his boxer briefs. His dog tags jingled which provoked him, he looked at one of the tags and it said

 ** _Adrian Zhdanov_**  
 ** _Born: September 1st, 1949_**  
 ** _Outer Heaven_**

Adrian suddenly flinched at the sight that was his left arm, it was like he never lost it during the crash. He could feel it. and he even saw a gold band around his ring finger. He was married, Snake suddenly jumped when he heard crying from a small monitor on the nightstand by his bed. Quiet had woken up smiling at Adrian before climbing out of bed,

"I got her." She said, wrapping her naked body with a silk robe. She walked up and planted a kiss on her lover's lips before leaving the bedroom.

Adrian had looked into the mirror, not seeing Big Boss's face, but his own. The natural hazel iris in _'both'_ eyes, the platinum blonde hair on his scalp, the scar going down his right eye, the shrapnel was gone and so were the scars he had inflicted on that chopper. He saw Quiet walk into the room feeding an infant her bottle, she walked up next Adrian showing him the life they created together. The baby girl had platinum hair like his, she was so beautiful.

"Your papa's home." Quiet cooed to the infant.

Before Adrian was able to hold his child's tiny hand, he heard the familiar respirator behind him. In an instinct, Adrian reached behind him feeling someone's throat in his grip. The vision faded back into the webbed room and Snake from the floor had twisted his head to see Mantis choking from his grasp. Soon the webbing had disappeared back into a normal untouched darkened mess hall. Duck flinched when the bodies up on display turned out to be hung upside down by meat hooks and that the spider creature was the floating boy. Snake stood and lifted Mantis off the ground.

"It c-can't be, nooo!" Mantis cried.

"Stay. Out. Of. My. Head!" Snake snarled. Mantis continued to struggle in the man's grasp, gasping for air behind his mask, "You tell Eli that I'm coming after him, and Quiet better be alive, because if she's not... I'll see you in your nightmares." Snake tossed the child across the room. Mantis rolled across the floor before he gave Snake one last look and disappeared.

Duck sprung into action when he saw Snake lose his balance and caught him, "We need to get that poison out of your system."

Snake shoved him away, "I'm fine..."

"But-"

"I said I'm fine!" Venom Snake snarled before limping towards the two bodies hanging upside down across the room. Snake held one of their heads onto his hands and his eyes fluttered open.

"B-Boss..." Salamander coughed, "You came..." Hammerhead beside him coughed up as well while Duck and Snake unhooked them.

"Place is not right, Boss..." Hammerhead spoke.

"Get your weapons, we're moving out." Snake ordered.

"Sir?"

Snake looked over his shoulder, "We have a mission to complete!" Snake loaded his rifle.


	5. Chapter 5

**_WARNING! This contains Spoilers!_**

 ** _DISCLAIMER: The Metal Gear Franchise are all owned by Hideo Kojima!_**

 ** _P.S: Fuck Konami!_**

 **Metal Gear Solid V:** **The Phantom Pain** **  
** **The Lost Episodes**

Chapter 5  
"Doom"

 ** _0230 Hours_**  
 ** _Maintenance service tunnel in the connecting bridge of the Command Platform and the Botanical Gardens Preservation Center._**  
 ** _Missions Time: 1:53:21..._**

Connor "Salamander" Jacobs aka the Machine Gun Kid was loading fresh clips into his duel Ze've Sub Machine Guns. Vasily "Hammerhead" Anisimov, aka Shotmaker held close his customized Riotgun with a 50 round drum magazine. Dirty Duck only held onto his boomerang, which to the FoxHOUNDS was moronic, but to Snake he knew with someone like Duck wielding a children's toy managed to turn it into a deadly weapon. As for Venom Snake, however, he kept watch itching to get a smoke from his phantom cigar, peering into the darkness to make sure they weren't being followed or attacked by any more infected personnel of the PF base. Dead silence was the darkness's tune, the kind of environment that pushed men who were coming back from PTSD.

"We're ready to go, Boss!" Salamander spoke, breaking the silence.

Snake tied his bandana tighter before locking and loading his rifle, "Then we move out." He said, pulling out his iDroid and brought up the holomap of the entire base. "The main objective is here."

 _'Marker Placed...'_ The iDroid chimed.

"The Medical Platform, but the time getting there on foot will be a problem giving the circumstances." Snake changed the iDroid screen to a VI of two boys. "Eli, and his partner Tretij Rebenok, also known as Psycho Mantis, the 'Floating Boy'. They are priority number two, mainly Eli. His location is unknown, but it would be safe to say he's hiding here."

 _'Marker Placed...'_

"The connecting bridge to the command center strut on this platform is out so you need to circle around to the Medical Platform and get to the command center from there. It's going to be quite the walk."

"So what do we do, Boss?" Hammerhead asked, shouldering his Riotgun.

Snake switched off the iDroid and replaced it into his pocket. "Get to Medical Platform and find the body. After you've recovered the objective, move to the command center and start investigating on Eli's whereabouts." Snake briefed, earning Duck gave a confused look.

"What about you?" He asks.

Snake had already descended the corridor using his NVG to guide himself through the darkness and detect any infected. They got their orders and now Snake had to take care of something for himself. Arming his weapon with a Master Key attachment, and inserting a fresh ammo clip, Snake had gone up to the service entrance to the Commander Center's first floor. Twisting his bionic hand and drawing a deep breath itching for a bit of fresh air from behind his mask, Snake kicked open the door aiming his rifle from the right then left. A mutated infected mercenary saw the intruder and instinctively began charging at Big Boss's phantom, foaming at the mouth and snarling under his breath. Snake aimed his rifle and fired seeing the bullets tear up the infected's uniform and fell dead to the floor. Snake had walked further down the hall before peeking around the next corner with his weapon glimpsing two bodies of the lucky ones who never managed to mutate, a fate worse than death.

Snake's trigger finger itched when he drew up to the next door which was unlocked from the emergency protocol. The door slid open and an infected screeched at the intruder running up the steps only to get a chest full of bullets sending him over the railing. Snake's aim drew to the catwalk above seeing three more infected running across. Using the dot sight and switching the weapon to single shot burst, Snake shot all three in the head killing them instantly. Snake kept his breathing even only blinking in case he had too, but no such moment came. Big Boss never blinked his eye so why won't his own Phantom? The Phantom switched the weapon back to full automatic when he descended the steps and to the next corner after following the snarling coming from the next room. When he made himself visible, the infected screamed charging after Snake before being blasted away by gunfire.

 _*Loud Moan!*_

 _?!_

Snake twisted his body around seeing a bright glowing figure coated in flames. Psycho Mantis was very persistent with his abilities to try and get under Snake's skin with living illusions of the former members of the Cobra Unit. He could see the domed helmet the figure was donning over its head. Snake pulled the trigger and only three bullets were fired as the clip went dry. Damnit! Snake quickly began reloading.

 _ **"FURRRRRRYYYYY!"**_

The booming voice almost made Snake's vision blurred, and the heat of the flames were getting intense with each step the Fury took towards his prey as Snake finished reloading his rifle. Snake began shooting at the corporeal hallucination in short controlled bursts causing the Fury to stumble back as each shot impacted his body. Snake's next shot from the Master Key attachment caused a nearby fire suppressing pipe to burst, shooting jets of cool air from the punctured pipes. The Fury let out a roar as he was suddenly evaporated into smoke, defeated. Much like The Man on Fire at the hospital in Cyprus, the Fury was no different when it comes to water or fire suppression systems. Relieved that the Fury was gone for now he felt breathing growing down his neck.

Pumping the Master Key, Snake violently twisted his body seeing the snarling and giggling infected soldier before pulling the trigger, sending chunks of flesh, bone, and brain matter across the walls. Pumping his Master Key once more, Snake suddenly gasped with surprise seeing another _laughing_ infected taunting him before shot him down with automatic gunfire. Snake for once was disturbed after seeing that the infected were getting instinctive. First they were sprinting and now they were taunting him? Snake feared what could come next but as of now he had seen it all, even the eyes of fear incarnate itself.

Snake kept his aim sharp when he descended the corridor breathing heavily from behind his mask, sweat running in long lines down his face. The atmosphere was dark, quiet, and filled with unspeakable horrors. Snake's remaining eye scanned for anything that moved and when something did move he would pull the trigger of his weapon without a moment's hesitation. The memories of the Mother Base's quarantine facility began plaguing his mind as the event that were being transpired before him was unsettling similar. Almost every time his gun was fired he will see a flash of the Diamond Dogs falling dead saluting their leader. One after another, Snake saw his men fall dead at his hands, and since that day, he was haunted with more nightmares than before. Pressing their ashes into diamonds being displayed on their logo just below the yellow ribbon displaying the Diamond Dogs name, to carry them into battle.

Through these painful flashbacks, Snake can hear Mantis's respirator. The Third Child kept diving into his mind and continued his telepathic assault on the Big Boss's phantom. The respirator sounded again and this time the entire corridor shifted, the hazy orange glow illuminated the darkness, the walls peeled showing the metal interior, Mantis' hymn piercing his skull. Like Snake had descended into hell, where he thought belongs. But yet he was still here on earth, punished to walk through the deserts of Afghanistan and the forests of Africa, filled with venom, forced to where his face. Snake suddenly jumped when he saw more movement, aiming his AM assault rifle and fired a single shot.

 _*Bam!*_

Snake shot his own reflection in the head. He stood there looking at the hole in the place of his head was, where Big Boss' head was. Snake never realized the irony, he couldn't stand looking in a mirror anymore. Every time he did he would shatter the mirror in an instant buying him a shitload of bad luck. Snake really did stare at this reflection perhaps the longest he's ever allowed himself to since discovering who he really was. Did he hate Big Boss, or himself? For not remembering _who_ he was, or not knowing _what_ he is? A mere _stunt_ double, or a Phantom?

There was no true word for who or what he is. Snake can suddenly see blood seep from the hole in the glass like he actually shot Big Boss in the head in a killer's instinct. His reflection began moving on it's own, laughing. When Snake blinked the image changed into Dr. Adrian Zhdanov aka 'Saladin' wearing Venom Snake's bandana and eyepatch even bearing all his scars and the ' _horn_ ' from the explosion.

"You hate it don't you?" Adrian asked in his original voice, the bullet hole in his head still gushing blood. Snake began fidgeting his only hand holding the rifle at his side, his breathing became labored as a panic attack was coming on. "You're starting to hate being someone who should be in your shoes, or rather his own shoes. Diamond Dogs already know the truth about you, yet you're still pretending to be him while he carries your own name. What's the point being _'your own man'_ if you don't live up to it? I'm still inside that head of yours, _Venom_ _Snake_. I have all the answers to your questions. You just won't let me out to help you remember her."

" _SHUT UP!_ " Snake roared smashing out the mirror with the butt of his AM rifle. Breathing heavily from the panic attack, Snake turned and faced a corporeal form of Adrian.

"Careful now, Snake the acute anxiety can be dangerous on you in a time like this. Trust me, I'm a doctor." Adrian smirked before fading. "You know where to find me."

Snake's anger filled him when he heard Mantis' respirator again, twisting his body around he blindly spray n' prayed into the corridor emptying his ammo clip while screaming in rage. Mantis' floating form phased through the bullets before hovering through the ceiling, disappearing along with his hymn and his Nightmare. Snake stood in the dark corridor still pulling the trigger of his assault rifle before he had let go.

 _"Hello, Father!"_ The accented voice spoke over the PA system when the power to the corridor suddenly restored.

"Eli..." Snake muttered.

 _"I told you this wasn't over, Snake! Now I will take someone you love and I'll enjoy watching her kill you! You humiliated me, made me look like a fool! But don't worry father, I'm one step closer to getting what I deserve. Then we'll see who's the inferior one..."_

"You have one last chance to give up, Eli. I won't be able to protect you any longer."

" _Protect me...? PROTECT ME!? Don't joke about being a father, Snake, you're not capable of it! You're not even capable of love. But we'll see now won't we?_ " Eli's voice suddenly cut off and the power went down once more leaving Snake there in the dark.

Snake clenched tight his bionic hand and begun reloading his assault rifle, and proceeded down the corridor. As he stepped outside the cool air had dried the sweat peppering his face and was washed away from the misty rain of the storm. Snake looked over the railing, seeing he was on the second-floor catwalk connecting from the mess hall to the CO barracks. Snake could see the gardens just across the bridge stretching a good mile ahead before he hopped the railing and dropped to the concrete ground of the platform. Still in a crouching position, Snake swept the area around him, looking through his night vision.

" _Hey Big Boss, come in._ "

Snake touched his earpiece, answering the call.

"Go ahead." He replied.

" _That announcement just now, and the power being restored had opened up a lot of doors, some that were still locked from the emergency protocols_."

"And?"

" _Well, they were locked for a reason. The entire service tunnel is filled with infected we had to break for it, we're whole._ "

"How far are you from the Medical Platform?"

" _We're getting there, but we can't tell how much worse it is up on the ground floor. Watch your back boss, there's more of them out there now._ "

"Thanks for the warning, out."

Snake began walking across the bridge in the pouring down rain, the night vision occasionally went bright when the thunder crackled in the sky. The ocean's high tide waters slapping and hissing across the strut legs. Through the darkness Snake can see a few slow moving figures passed all the rain and were slowly walking towards him before they have begun picking up their pace until they were sprinting at him letting out a high pitched scream. Snake shot the first in the head, the second was shot dead from a controlled burst to the torso. The third got the closest to Snake provoking him to use CQC to slam the infected to the ground, Snake pulled his knife and drove the blade through the infected's temple. Snake pulled free the knife and wiped the excess blood from the blade before sheathing it and continued on to the domed structure on the next platform.

 ** _The Botanical Gardens Conservation/Survivalist Training Center_**  
 ** _Mission Time: 2:23:02..._**

Snake had entered the large greenhouse, the lights were oddly powered on as it was the only building shone in the darkness of the night. The water systems were showering the entire dome, soaking into the soil below Snake's feet. Snake began to suspect that this dome was also used as an onsite survival training program judging by the small animals nesting and calling around, no concrete surface anywhere just a square miles of green, and trees. The base had its very own forest. Snake kept his aim true walking through the shrubbery and pushing aside any small branch of leafs away. Snake followed a distant sound, a unique sound that wasn't created by nature.

He could hear the familiar humming when he followed it and it became louder and louder. The relaxing sound that made him at peace whenever she was with him on a mission or in the ACC. When Snake pushed through the trees he saw her, he saw Quiet bathing in the water soaking her skin. She played with the puddles humming her favorite tune before she met Snake's eye. She paused for a minute before she smirks at him seductively. Quiet got to her feet swaying her hips as she walked closer, circling him and trailed her hand while she did across his shoulders. Snake's guard had betrayed him as he lowers his weapon. Quiet purrs at him leaning close as she was about to kiss him even with their masks on, when suddenly her Racoon Eye appeared and she put on an angry scowl in her eyes pulling out her Skull machete. Snake used CQC to maneuver her wrist from him as she swung the blade and shove her away.

"Stand down!" Snake ordered.

Quiet didn't listen as she vanished and reappeared much closer in mid air looking to deliver an overhead slash. Snake shifted to his left driving his knee up to her abdomen when she came down, Snake then flipped her over onto her back and used the time to kick away the machete. Quiet scowled at Snake as she crawled away and vanished once more into thin air. Snake pulled out his Windruger and a stun knife from his boot and stood in a CQC stance and aimed into the tree line. Snake continued to follow Quiet's humming. Snake contemplated on how he was going to convince her to snap out of Mantis' control, so far Snake's doubts on the supernatural was wearing dangerously thin as of late, even after experiencing this mission.

Snake used his Int-Scope's directional microphone to pinpoint Quiet's humming when he saw a green laser sight from her rifle point right at his head provoking Snake to leap out of the way in time before a loud gunshot ripped through the sound barrier. Snake closely followed the green laser before it suddenly switched off knowing that Quiet realized her mistake. Snake hid behind the tree pulling out his assault rifle and replaced his ammo clip with concussion stun rounds and loaded a fresh round into the chamber, Snake clipped on the booster scope module and took a deep breath. Placing his finger on the trigger, Snake rushed from the tree firing his weapon in controlled bursts before moving to the next tree. A bullet from Quiet's rifle embedded into the bark of the trunk Snake dove behind just in time.

Quiet continued to hum her song, It was a game of cat in mouse.

 ** _Mission Time: 3:30:02..._**

For over an hour and a half, Snake remained flat on his stomach hiding with the greenery of the ground. Bugs and small animals rested on his fatigues along with a non-venomous Snake slithering across his back. Snake was completely drenched in the rain, soaked to the skin real good. Quiet's humming was the only noise being heard it relaxed the both of them. Snake remained hidden until she would make the first misfortune of passing by his view, and she did. Snake's eye twitched when she was seen knelt down along the ridge in front of him trying to search for him. Snake knows Quiet is using her left eye to scan the area around her and he only had one shot. Snake aimed down the sights of his assault rifle and gently pulled the trigger. Quiet's head shot up and her aim quickly turned to Snake but she met the full force of two stun round hitting her chest.

Quiet yelled out in pain as she dropped to her back. Snake rushed up the ridge to check on her still seeing her lie there unconscious. Snake shouldered his rifle and he knelt next to Quiet brushing a strand of her damp hair out of her eyes, she was out but alive. Just when things began to settle down, the familiar respirator sounded again provoking Snake to aim his rifle behind him, there was nothing. Snake suddenly felt a hand on his thigh, it was Quiet pulling out his AM sidearm and she kicked him off his feet sending him off the ridge and land painfully on his back. The next thing Snake saw through his haze was Quiet straddling him holding his gun against the side of his chest. She leaned down to him face to face from behind their masks.

 _*Pop!*_

Snake's body jerked and he began yelling out in pain when she shot him at point blank range. Snake clenched his right hand tight into a fist before driving it up and connected to Quiet's jaw forcing her off him. Quiet failed to realize that Snake also armed his sidearm with concussion rounds as well, but in Snake's case being fire at point blank range gave him a nasty flesh wound. Snake found it a little hard to breathe as the force behind the shot impacted his ribs, pressing against his left lung. Snake painfully reached into his pack to pull out a first aid spray and sprayed it into his wound. The chemicals in the spray being spent into the open wound sent him into a pained fury as he screamed in the agony. Snake tossed the empty container away before he felt weight fall onto his back when Quiet tackled him. They struggled by rolling across the soil being stained with mud and grime. Quiet ended up on top of him holding his throat in her hands, choking the life out of him. Snake struggled in her grasp when he began blacking out, but not before he reached up with his bionic hand and gripped her throat. Quiet's eyes widened when his arm powered up to life before sending 1.2 megavolts into both of their bodies combined with the rain damping their bodies, Quiet's leggings began ripping away from the electricity until there was nothing left of it. Both screamed in the pain before their consciousness left them.

Quiet's head remained laying on his chest as she and Snake slowly faded into darkness.

* * *

 _Adrian gasped awake from a bad dream shifting his body from under the sheets he was wrapped up in. His dog tags jingled when he turned onto his side and they rested on the pillow as he shifted his arm under it to regain some comfort. From beneath the sheets, a slender hand was wrapped around him gently rubbing at the taut muscles of his chest. Adrian gently giggled when the fingers tickled him slightly before grabbing the hand into his and feeling someone's head pressed up against his back, cuddling her body against him._

 _The woman's small accented voice sang through his eardrums, a voice so unique._

 _"Bad dream?" She asks._

 _Adrian's eyes remained closed as the slumber was still heavy on them, "Yeah, nothing I'm not used to though."_

 _"We could call up some room service, get some breakfast." She kissed his bare shoulder._

 _Adrian loved the way she talks, her accent was so relaxing even when she sings. But after a few seconds his mouth formed a frown, "I have to go." Adrian spoke._

 _"Don't..." She pleadingly whispered._

 _"I have to, this was never permanent." Adrian reminded, with a little regret._

 _The girl sat up wanting to lay her head on his chest, her messy hair draping over her eyes before she brushed away the brunette locks revealing green orbs. She caressed the skin of his cheek with her fingertips taking in the hazel colored eyes._

 _"Can't you at least tell me your name?" She asks._

 _Adrian shook his head, "Never, the same reason I can never know yours." He cupped her cheek into his palm. "This is all probably just a dream. The kind I never want to wake up from." He added sadly._

 _"Then kiss me before you wake up..." She whispers with a sad smile._ _Adrian leaned up to plant a solid kiss on her mouth but never connected to home as darkness enveloped him._

* * *

 ** _0510 Hours_**

 ** _Mission Time: 4:10:21_**

Snake woke feeling the cold drops of water hitting his scarred face, laying on the dirt soaked to the skin with an unconscious Quiet laying on him just as wet as him with the very little clothing she had. Her leggings were burned to nothing, displaying a much clear view of her lower half exposing every curve with the undergarment she wears. Snake coughed when he moved his sore body gently pulling Quiet's form from him and lied her down gently on the grass beside them. She let out an uncomfortable groan when she slid onto her back while Snake tried standing to his feet with every muscle in his body tingled and popped. His chest stung to hell from the flesh wound he had treated earlier, completely losing track of time. While clutching at his side, Snake knelt down beside Quiet as she began to stir awake. Her blue eyes looked up to meet hazel, she blinked a couple of times before her face twisted with guilt. She wanted to vanish from his sight, but she just sat there in the dirt, covered in grime from her fight with the Boss.

"You okay?" He asks, continuing to surprise her in every way.

In her head she wondered why he wasn't angry at her for trying to kill him again. This man kneeling beside her was a complete mystery to her still, she still couldn't figure him out after all this time of knowing him personally. All she was able to do was nod her head still sticking to her name once more, but she broke that charade once she saw his wound, placing her hand over it.

Snake tried to brush it off, "Just a flesh wound." He muttered. "I gave it a little stimulate. I should be fine for a while." Snake assured, "We need to move." He said standing up and held out his right hand.

Quiet hung her head, solemnly shaking her head. Snake reached down to lift her onto her feet by gripping her shoulders, "On your feet soldier! We're not out of the woods yet, I need you to focus on the mission. We'll sort this out once we get back to mother base, is that clear?"

Quiet was taken aback by Snake being the legendary Big Boss he was, even though she was still guilt-ridden, her face hardened as she gave a firm nod. Snake tossed Quiet her Brennan rifle nicknamed the _'Sinful Butterfly'_ and she pulled the bolt loading another round into the chamber before shouldering it. Snake took his AM assault rifle and loaded a fresh clip of lethal rounds and chambered a fresh round while doing the same with his sidearm. Snake pulled out his iDroid, looking down at the map being projected.

"Let's rendezvous with the others. This is going to be our route from here to the Medical Platform, if we manage to find a jeep we can get there a whole lot faster." Snake briefed looking over the holo map being projected from the iDroid. "I know you always scout up ahead in the field, but I think it's best we stick together. That floating boy is going to make sure we don't make it to the others. He won't be able to work his psychic mumbo jumbo around me, that makes you vulnerable." Quiet hung her head when she began fidgeting with the strap of her rifle, about to speak her mind.

"We'll talk," Snake interjected, "But now is not the time." Earning him a confused look from Quiet. "Truth is I need your help. More than you know. You're the only one who may be able to help me." He added avoiding eye contact and he scratched at the faint stubble on his face. "I want to remember..." He mutters.

Quiet's green eyes blinked bewildered. She could see some seriousness in his oddly hazel colored eye she found so familiar from her past. She also saw he was in complete despairing doubt. _'About what?'_ She would think, _'Himself? Diamond Dogs?'_ She did know that the legendary Big Boss wanted her help. Real Help. For her, it sent euphoria through her heart at the thought that Snake was finally noticing her. If it weren't from the constant coquettish display she put on whenever he visited her in her cell and when they were in the ACC, or the tape she left him confessing her feelings to the Boss, this might have never happened. But there was more to it than that, little did the Vanguard Sniper knew.

"I'm..." Snake reluctantly paused before something caught his attention.

A thick mist protruded out of the air, and to both of them is was strikingly familiar. Snake and Quiet moved back to back while crouching, aiming their weapons. Quiet's Racoon Eye appeared around her eyes while she kept one eye focused on the scope while searching with the other. Snake kept aiming around, eventually seeing two bright green eyes poke through the mist, glowing like fireflies in the darkness. The sight of seeing the eyes of a Skull trooper sent chills down Snake's spine. Their powers given to them by the parasites in their skin made Snake lose faith in humanity. He was baffled on how humans has come into 'toying' with the meaning of life, how they turned a strong willed woman into one of them.

"Stay sharp." Snake whispers, earning him a thumbs up from Quiet.

The faint booming sound of the Skull's vanishing ability came closer as four of them appeared out of the air and landed in front of them. Their bodies twisted and twitched when they stood up straighter beaming with their unnatural glowing eyes before pulling out assault rifles and machetes from the palms of their hands. Quiet sprung to action using her Sinful Butterfly to put a bullet right in between the eyes of her first target. A Skull's head forcefully jerked back with a low groan escaping its throat, when it lifted it's head back up, most of its face showed it's bone and muscle when the mask was torn clean off. Snake aimed his AM assault rifle and shot down the injured Skull with short controlled bursts. The Skull's body trembled as its torso was torn up by Snake's gunfire, a black mist combined with wisps of green protruded from its body when it let out a final groan as it fell to it's back.

"Fall back!" Snake barked, as the remaining Skulls attacked.

Both Quiet and Snake ran into the treeline before the Skulls fired their submachine guns, each shot peppered into the wood while some stray rounds zipped and whistled passed the fleeing Diamond Dogs' heads. Quiet had shouldered her rifle and drew her sidearm when she saw a Skull rapidly teleport through the trees and toward's Snake. She lined up her perfect shot striking the Skull once in the eye causing it to stumble back. She continued to run at the same pace as the Boss through the mist when they reached the ladder to the catwalk that leads out into the deck. Quiet used her superhuman agility to leap onto the catwalk with one jump saving the ladder for the Boss. He zipped up the ladder faster than she had ever seen him before while being pursued by XOF's Parasite Unit. The Vanguard Sniper took the time to line up a shot with her Brennan rifle, seeing a lone Skull protrude from its mist before delivering a shot into the head once more. The Skull moaned loudly before falling to its knees and suddenly it's face healed back up with a sudden layer of obsidian armor combusting around its entire body. The rest of the unit did much of the same being encased in their solid armor making the game much harder.

"Quiet let's move!" Snake shouted popping a White Phosphorus grenade and chucked it into the survivalist training pad. The grenade exploded instantaneously coating the surrounding greenery in fire and eventually surround the halting Skulls. The Skulls began individually leap from the dome to the outside in the pouring rain as did Quiet and Snake from the entrance.

Snake and Quiet were met with the pouring rain from the storm, washing away most of the dirt, blood, and grime from their clothing and skin. Snake's adrenal glands severed his connection to the throbbing pain from his treated flesh wound from the continuous pursuit of the Skulls. But now without the privilege of light the dome produced, now they were stuck outside with very little charge left for his NV goggles. Red wisps swiped through the air which Snake recognizes was a swing from a Skull's machete. Quiet pulled out her own with an angered scowl on her face when a Skull appeared out of nowhere, preparing to do an overhead strike with its machete. Snake saw it coming grabbing its wrist before the blade connected, grabbing the hilt Snake twisted his body taking the Skull's weapon with him and Snake drove the blade through the back of the Skull. The Skull groaned as it tried to remove its own weapon from its obsidian armored body. The Skull only pulled the machete out from the blade end and handled it again.

Snake narrowed his eye. He always used means of explosives to deal with the Skulls in the past but with no such resources available aside from fragmentation grenades, Snake used other means involving the Skull's own machetes that were strong enough the puncture their armor. Without a weapon in hand, Snake took a CQC stance when the Skull charged at him again teleporting right on Snake's blind spot. But with Snake's instinct, he dodges the swing of the machete and grabs the Skull's wrist once more and maneuvers the hand to the point where the machete falls from the Skull's grip. Snake came behind and kicked the bend of the Skull's knee causing it to fall onto it, then with one twirl of his body, Snake drove the blade down to the nape of the Skull's neck. The blade sliced through the obsidian and half way through its neck, near its spine. Snake pulled the blade free and slashed down again, severing the head. Snake's chest heaved when he inspected the weapon in his hand and nodded, impressed before seething it into the trap of his chest rig.

Quiet continued to fight off her two mindless counterparts with her machete getting a few good swings while teleporting all over the deck as the remaining Skulls gave chase. Quiet sliced the throat of the Skull she came in contact with causing it to stumble back with its head almost ready to fall off while the parasites of its skin tried to heal the damage. She grunted when she was kicked in the stomach sending her across the deck almost over the edge of the strut, she stumbled to her knees when the two skulls approached her. She narrowed her eyes with the Racoon Eye war paint of the Diné, before she drove her machete into the stomach of a Skull and pulled it out to do a full body twist and swung the blade once, severing the head clean off.

Snake from afar sprinted to her aid into taking down the final Skull. Snake's eye widened when the Skull teleported behind her and rose it's machete.

Snake reached out to her, "NOOOOOOO!"

Quiet felt the blade pierce her and it protruded from her abdomen. Blood gushed from her stomach and spilled to the concrete deck and mixed with the rain. Her eyes blinked when she looked down and her war paint eyes vanished. The Skull pulled its weapon free and Quiet fell to her knees with a blank face before falling to the ground, motionless. Snake roared with anger when he football tacked the armored Skull to the ground, using his bionic arm he drove the metallic fist down onto the Skull's face. With each strike, the arm echoed at it powered up the full force behind each strike that cracked and eventually shattered the obsidian covering its entire head. Snake was thrown off from the Skull by its immense strength. The blurred vision cleared when Snake saw the Skull walk towards him, but Snake pressed a switch on his Bionic Arm and aimed his fist at the Skull's head as it pulled out a rifle this time.

"FIRE!" Snake shouted signaling the Bionic Arm to fly from the stump towards the Skull. The fist connected with the Skull's face and suddenly the bionic arm had exploded, blowing the head right off of the Skull's body. The Skull fell to its knees and slowly fell forward, dead.

The Mist slowly began to clear and the rain began to fall very lightly as the storm overhead begun to lighten up. The morning glow made it very easy to see, even Quiet's form that lied motionless on the deck. Snake now with one arm ran to her side and knelt down beside her, taking her into his arm.

"Quiet?" He whispers, seeing her move slightly, unconscious but on the brink of death, "Don't die on me now you hear me, soldier?" He shook her once and her eyes twitched and she groaned silently. Snake's hand suddenly cradled the back of her head, "I need you..."

Snake can hear footsteps behind him and saw someone kneel down beside him, "You need to let me out, Snake. You can't play this game forever." Adrian said solemnly.

"I don't know how, I can't even remember." Snake mutters still holding onto Quiet. Adrian placed a hand on Snake's shoulder, Snake blinked when he saw it was a Bionic Hand. Snake looked back to see a mirrored vision of himself only he wore Adrian's face underneath the eyepatch and bandana.

"I'll show you." Adrian says before Snake closes his eye.

 _*Sun will rise momentarily*_ The iDroid chimed.

Once his eye opens he looked back down at Quiet's unconscious form, "Tixij." He gently shook her.

Quiet moaned as her eyes fluttered open meeting the faint sunrise through the gray clouds, too weak to keep them up. But she can see a face she hasn't seen in almost ten long years through her haze. Her hand slowly came up to cup his cheek with a weak smile, "Is..." She paused trying to focus on the blurred vision, "Is it really you?" She asked with a hoarse gasp.

Adrian couldn't help but nod his head, "Yeah Tixij, it's me."

Quiet's smile grew when suddenly consciousness began to slip once more, "Saladin..." She mutters before passing out once more and Snake embracing his old memories as Adrian touched his forehead to Quiet's. Snake's head shot up when he met the loud snarls of a hoard of infected crossing the bridge. The fire he started in the dome was must have drawn them. Adrian pulled Quiet's body closer to his when the infected began picking up their pace, screeching and yelling at their new prey. Suddenly to Adrian's ears, the rotors of a helicopter flew overhead and a searchlight beamed to the hoard,

Snake's head shot up when he met the loud snarls of a hoard of infected crossing the bridge. The fire he started in the dome was must have drawn them. Snake pulled Quiet's body closer to his when the infected began picking up their pace, screeching and yelling at their new prey. Suddenly to Snake's ears, the rotors of a helicopter flew overhead and a searchlight beamed to the hoard,

" _This is Pequod! Engaging priority of enemy threats!_ " Adrian's radio crackled.

The chopper's miniguns activated showering down the hoard with gunfire. A bloody mist spilled into the air once everybody fell to the concrete.

" _Rocket salvo! Rocket salvo!_ " Pequod shouted over the radio. An air to ground missile shot from the chopper's wing onto the bridge severing it and blowing away any remaining infected and Snake shielded him and Quiet from the explosion.

Snake had looked up at the chopper and instinctively pulled out a Fulton device and hooked it to his rig. The balloon inflated and lifted him and Quiet into the air Pequod maneuvered the chopper for its recovery pin to latch onto the balloon and pull them up.

" _We are away!_ " Pequod announced. The pin rotated to the open door into the ACC where Decoy Octopus was waiting and began pulling Snake and the injured Quiet up into the cabin.

"Mission's complete, Boss! We recovered the package!" Octopus informed.

Snake sat in the seat holding Quiet, "And Eli?"

Octopus shook his head, "The place was overrun, they couldn't get close to the Command center. We barely got your team out, but everyone is good."

Snake frowned, but he nodded his head.

"Approaching the Heiwa Maru!" Pequod announced.

The chopper flew over the Diamond Dog's refurbished Whaler, the Heiwa Maru; A communications relay point and chopper refueling station. The chopper began to land on the heliport where Ocelot was seen waiting in his coat protecting him from the downpour, with a paramedic team on standby. Once the chopper touched down Octopus helped Snake carry Quiet out of the cabin where the paramedic team took over placing her on the gurney.

"I'll be damned. Saved your ass once again did she?" Ocelot asked watching the medics stroll her to the medical center with Snake watching them disappear from his sight while he focused on her sleeping face.

"Make sure she get's the best care possible." Snake says while pushing away a medic who tried to help out with Snake's wound.

"We will." Ocelot assures, smirking at the idea of the boss developing feelings for her. He walks with him further onto the ship's deck, "The body we recovered is being shipped over to the quarantine platform back at mother base as we speak. Miller is going over the preparations for Code Talker to begin the research." Ocelot looked towards the rival PF's base, "All that's left to do is take care of the nuke that these boys have. That merc Duck gave us the run down, the materials are in the R&D platform. We're ready to dispatch a cleanup crew, just give the order from your iDroid." Ocelot informed.

"Boss!" A Diamond Dog saluted, "Here's your spare, sir."

Snake turned to see the soldier hold a spare Bionic Arm which Snake gladly took and connected it to the stump. Snake tested the fingers and hand to make sure it was working properly before dismissing his follower, whom saluted and returned to his duties.

"I'm going back in." Snake declared, walking back to his chopper.

"Boss?" Ocelot asked bewildered following the half injured and fatigued Phantom of Big Boss.

Snake had already replaced his face mask, "Assemble the men." Snake ordered boarding the chopper motioning for Pequod to take off.

(Debriefing)

 ** _Commander Center of the Command Platform_**  
 ** _0632 Hours..._**

The storm had cleared enough for the choppers to roll in and the Diamond Dogs began repelling into the base in the Battle Dress fatigues armed with heavy weapons. Snake observed the clean up when Pequod moved to touch down on the helipad. Snake disarmed himself of his weapons and rigs before exiting the cabin. Snake walked into the building meeting silence when he faced the door into the commander's office. After a moment's hesitation Snake entered the office meeting a dark and gloomy room, but most importantly the sound of a gas mask's respirator and a boy sitting back in the chair with his feet on the desk and his hands resting behind his head, with a mask of his own for protection against the infection.

"White Mamba." Venom Snake spoke.

Eli's feet touched the ground and he hung his head, "You... You can't just stay dead can't you?"

"When you've been a soldier as long as I have you learn that death does not find you, you find it." Snake walked closer to the desk, "I've been a soldier long enough to overcome it. If you play your cards right you might too, but if you want to be a soldier you best act like one. We have a common enemy, but you won't stand with us. I know why now, you may get your revenge against Big Boss someday, son. But now is not the time."

Eli's fisted his hands tight as Snake turned his back to walk out of the office, but he stopped halfway, "You have your army, I have mine. The next time we meet... we'll be at war." Snake said before leaving the office and Eli remained in his chair next to Mantis.

"Then let us go to war then." Eli seethed under his breath.

* * *

 ** _11 Hours after Operation Biohazard..._**

 ** _Diamond Dog's Mother Base_**  
 ** _Seychelles Water_** s

 ** _1827 Hours..._**

A freshly cleaned Venom Snake sat in his ACC with Ocelot, Octopus, Salamander, Hammerhead, Dirty Duck, and Quiet who sat by Snake's side. An IV hung by Snake's head as it connected into his arm as he slowly recovered from the flesh wound. Everyone had to undergo decontamination before returning to Mother Base. When Pequod was about to land on the platform, Ocelot leaned towards Snake.

"I'll handle Miller, just make sure Quiet goes to her cell safe." He says.

Quiet continued to look out of the window dressed in a robe, Quiet didn't mind wearing it, however, she wouldn't be able to use her powers.

"Not this time Ocelot." Snake said once the chopper touched down.

Ocelot was curious, but he moved to open the door greeted by Miller and DD along with a few saluting soldiers.

"Boss welcome-" Miller's face changed when he saw Quiet's face. He drew his sidearm located underneath his coat and aimed it at her, ditching his walker, "What the hell is she doing here?!" He barks.

"Miller!" Ocelot scolded holding his hand towards him.

"How could you bring her here!? She's infected!" Miller spits with venom squeezing the trigger slightly.

Snake exited the chopper and closed the door to the chopper to protect Quiet from any gunfire.

"You've gone too far, this time, Boss!" Kaz's hand shook, "I can't can't let you do this, step aside. Let me end this."

Snake walks up to Miller and grips the barrel of his gun and positions it to his head, "You want her you're going to have to go through me." Snake declares.

"B-Boss?! What the hell are you doing?!" Miller gasped.

"You want to go with your instincts? Pull the trigger."

"Boss...!" Miller shook.

Snake nodded when he removed the gun from Miller's grasp and ejected the clip and the chambered round before handing it to Ocelot. Snake returns to the chopper and opens the door to carry Quiet in his arms, bridal style. Snake stops next to Miller and looked at him dead in the eyes behind his aviators.

"She's one of us Kaz." Snake says before he walks towards the Command Center with a tired Quiet in his arms. Ocelot pat's Miller's shoulder before he walks away with his men leaving Miller standing there with an angry scowl on his face.

Snake enters a room of the command center he hasn't used since Mother Base was operational, much less the full sized bed and clean sheets. A private bathroom with a steam shower, and the personal office space beyond the living room. Quiet took in the environment and liked it a lot better than her cell for a change. Snake set her down on her feet as she continued to look around.

"For now on this room is yours. I never come in here." He admits tearing a surprised glance at the Boss. He shakes his head, "Matresses give me nightmares, and I rather settle for cold showers from the booths. Keeps me focused as much as refreshed." Snake points to the shower in the bathroom, "Don't worry about over using the hot water." He says before he moved into the office space.

Quiet blushed when she looked into the bathroom and in truth she was excited on the words hot water. When she was confined to her cell she was always stuck with the cold water. Even so she still had to wear everything during her showers when she was under constant guard and had no privacy what so ever. But in the Boss' quarters, she no longer had such problem when she shed the robe and entered the shower. She turned on the hot water on full blast and she grinned when the hot water enveloped her naked body.

Snake sat in his chair pulling up a humidor with an engraving of the Outer Heaven opens the box to see a supply of Big Boss' favorite brand of Habano Cigars imported from Cuba. Snake saw a picture embedded inside the lid, a picture of Morpho, Miller, Big Boss, and himself before the transformation. Snake took a cigar from the box and brought it up to his nose to smell the mellow aroma of the tobacco inside. Snake stuck to his Phantom Cigar when he wanted to quit smoking, but to still uphold the identity as Big Boss. As of this night, Snake took the cigar cutter and clipped off the butt before popping it into his mouth and used the lighter inside the box. Snake closed the lid of the humidor and set it aside, he sunk into his chair smoking away at the cigar savoring its sweet flavors. While enjoying the cigar, however, he heard Quiet hum her song happily while enjoying the steam shower. Snake's eye caught the sight of her bare body from behind the glass as he can see the water flow down her back and passed her exposed rear and down her thighs. Soon after Snake continued to smoke and watch Quiet shower, the steam had enveloped the entire bathroom and Quiet's form got harder to see.

Snake shook his head turning his chair to gaze out of the window and he quietly smoked the cigar while listening to Quiet's humming. Only one day in the room and so far he enjoyed every minute.


	6. Chapter 6

**_WARNING! This contains Spoilers!_**

 ** _DISCLAIMER: The Metal Gear Franchise are all owned by Hideo Kojima!_**

 ** _P.S: Fuck Konami!_**

 **Metal Gear Solid V:** **The Phantom Pain** **  
** **The Lost Episodes**

Chapter 6  
"Nights to Remember"

It has been 24 hours since Operation Biohazard, and Code Talker along with the entire medical division has been working around the clock on the quarantine platform conducting research on the corpse of the infected child found on the competing PF's base; The Hellhounds PMC. The near-eternal Diné elder has been splicing the mutated samples of the English strain of the Vocal Cords Parasites with the cure used to treat Quiet's condition with the same strain. So far all attempts to creating a cure even so little as a prevention method proved fruitless to Code Talker's displeasure. The Hellhound's base was firebombed shortly after the incident, to sanitize everything and everyone as it all went down into the Southern Ocean. Did Eli and Mantis escape in time? It was no question for Snake, he knew the kind of rage Eli had in him and his plans by using the remaining boys to release the epidemic was only a matter of time. Snake knew that Eli knew that his next attack with the English strain will be a declaration of war.

One offshore plant full of infected mercenaries weren't enough to take on the full force of the Diamond Dogs, but a nation or any small country of infected could. That was Eli's probable cause of an ulterior motive just to spite Big Boss and his Heaven along with Cipher who birthed him.

 ** _Seychelles Waters, Diamond Dogs' Mother Base_**  
 ** _Command Platform, First Deck, The Commander's Private Office_**

 ** _0830 Hours..._**

As Quiet slept on Snake's bed, Code Talker had come in to check on her. It has been well over a month since the cure was administered, and it was a long shot by far that it would work. Code Talker took her temperature, her blood pressure, everything was normal for someone who managed to survive the English strain. Code Talker mumbled with satisfaction when he rolled over to Snake's desk where the Boss himself had sat, smoking the remainder of the Habano cigar.

"The parasites are doing their job well, she's recovering. Her color has returned and there is no sign of symptoms from the vocal cords parasites." Code Talker said.

"Not compromised by the cure we gave her?" Snake asked.

Code talker shook his head assuringly, "The cure was only able to get her body to reject the parasite nesting in her larynx, The One That Covers reside in the skin which helps her regenerate by means of photosynthesis. For someone in her stature, the parasites would have mated and begun feasting on her lungs like it's predecessors. But-"

"The x-rays on her lungs showed that they were badly burned. Meaning there was nothing left for them to feast on?" Snake added.

"Precisely! It is why she was able to live this long before you have found her in Afganistan. The parasites were her saving grace, unlike Skull Face's Parasite Unit this child had utilized her abilities to help you. When she was lost I had taught her the ways of my people, it was how we were able to communicate, it was how she was able to keep connected with herself and not become a mindless puppet for Skull Face to control."

Snake looked at Quiet's sleeping form. She slept in the nude with the sheets covering her private regions leaving enough exposed skin for her to breath as she slept peacefully. Her hair was down for once, and she had a small smile on her face. Two things that Snake never saw Quiet do before, sleep and smile all the same time. But for Adrian, however, it was nothing but sweet memories.

"For now, she must rest, her strength will come back in time for her service to you will continue." Code Talker said.

"And the research?" Snake asks.

Code Talker frowns, "Proved fruitless, I'm afraid. The molecular splicing of the Wolbachia even the cure we have developed don't give the counteractive effects from the previous outbreaks. The Wolbachia with its method of changing the male parasites into female had given the same results as the Kikongo Strain but after careful observation the females drastically changed to male."

"How's that even possible?" Snake asked while setting down the half finished cigar onto the ash tray.

"Life always finds a way, my friend. Even tiny organisms as parasites and insects, all living things have a means to evolve. Ever since the dawn of man, when we have first learned to walk upright we have evolved to continue the legacy of man. Who knows what the future of all life brings, either towards another jump in evolution or complete extinction."

"Hmph." Snake stood from his chair and took the cigar to take a final drag before putting it out, "Thanks for the life lesson."

Code Talker bowed his head before wheeling out of the office leaving Snake to suddenly grab his Bionic hand in pain. The phantom pain in his fingers are unbearable at times, the Vicodin doesn't help neither does an addiction if he continues taking them. The only thing that could take his mind off the pain was a cold shower. As he was about to step out of the office he passed by the steam shower, stopping to take a look at it debating on using a cold shower in here or one of the temporary booths on the outside. Another surge shot through his phantom limb provoking him to step into the glass cubical and turn on the shower full blast of ice cold water. The cool liquid soaked into the fatigues allowing the coolness of the water tightening his muscles to block out the pain. Snake clenched his right hand tightly into a fist before punching the tiled wall of the shower, which didn't help. But after some time had passed, his mind was at peace when the shower continued like in the booths that always kept him mentally and physically refreshed after each shower during each visit to Mother Base after a mission or more recruiting or resource gathering in both the vast deserts of Afganistan or the marsh wilderness of Central Africa.

As the water flowed down his scared face he suddenly heard the shower door open. His head slowly turned with his only eye catching the always half naked form of Quiet. She was dressed back into her top and much revealing underwear, she still kept her hair down when she joined him and met him under the full blast of the showerhead soaking her body and hair. Quiet didn't mind the cold water after all the time she had spent in her cell in the past, neither are nerve-stricken when they joined each other under the water, it wasn't their first time taking a shower together after all. Only this time there was no audience, without the men cheering on their boss while ogling Quite's body.

Quiet began helping Snake undress, and he didn't object or even move as she undid the shirt of his fatigues and slipped it from his shoulders and leave them sitting on the other side of the shower along with his undershirt, his brassards, gloves, pants, and boots. He stood there before her in his briefs, wearing only them, his prosthesis and eyepatch. Quiet stared at his scarred body casting her gaze up to his stubbled face she gently touched with her hand and caressed the eyepatch before removing it, still no objection from the Boss. The eye was frosted over provoking Quiet to stand on her toes and place a kiss on the closed eye. When she drew back she and Snake's eyes stared at each other before Quiet reached for the shower nozzle and turned it all the way to the left. The shower went from ice cold to blistering hot which changed Snake's mood. The second the hot water touched his skin he was lost in the overwhelming relief effect that the steam shower had. Steam began protruding around them, shrouding the shower with a thick mist almost to the irony of being with Quiet who had the abilities of the Skulls.

Quiet reached behind her to take a scrubby sponge and some sweet scenting soaps. She gradually began washing Snake with her most gentle touch, running the sponge across his chest leaving behind a trail of sweet-smelling suds. The aroma of the soaps brought a further relaxation to him as Quiet continued to wash him while humming her song. She scrubbed his arm, his shoulders, his chest and abs, and back. Once he was clean she stepped much closer to him touching her body with his transferring some of the suds onto her, she rubbed herself further against him as if he were the sponge filled with the sweet-smelling soaps. She used her hands to rub the suds across her chest and abs, her arms and thighs slightly bending over with Snake standing dangerously close behind her as if she continued to flirt with her body. All that was left was her back she pressed against him. She moved slowly rubbing the skin of her back against Snake's chest further washing it down in the hot water.

Both were now squeaky clean as they faced each other under the hot water once more, Quiet had slowly cupped his cheeks as if she just wanted to kiss him, even she wanted so desperately to. Snake, however, reached up and took her wrists removed her hands from his face.

"Thank you." He says looking deeply into her eyes, "I really needed this." He said, so genuinely grateful for what she has done for him to help him take his mind off the phantom pain. Snake moved passed her to step out of the cubical but he looked back, "I'll see you later, in the mean time get some rest."

He left. Quiet stood in the shower smiling to herself, happy she was more close to him than ever before and was giddy that this would lead to something that they both were longing for, for over 10 long years.

* * *

 _I did not choose to be Quiet, I once had a voice. A voice that was locked away from me._

 _A young girl, no older than ten, sat in the lonely chair staring blankly at the wall before her. Despite her unwavering eyes to the wall before her, her ears could pick up the voices of chatter – spoken in her native tongue. A man and a woman, she remembered the woman being particularly nice and warm to her..._

 _"Ze zit daar maar en staart ... ze zullen niet praten over wat er gebeurd is."_

 _"Het arme ding is in shrick..."_

 _"Wanneer denk je dat ze zal herstellen? We moeten haar enkele vragen stellen over wat er gebeurd is... "_

 _Her ears tuned out the conversation slightly, more grownups with their questions, they wouldn't change anything, they wouldn't bring it back. They wouldn't bring them back. She was just about to lose herself from reality when she heard sets of footsteps from outside the room._

 _"Excuse me."_

 _The words were spoken in a voice not known to her, in a language, she did not know. She kept her eyes focused forward as she heard shocked gasps from outside and movement._

 _"Wie ben jij?"_

 _"Mijn God!"_

 _She could hear more footsteps, then shuffles and the familiar haunting sound of a struggle. The man and the woman were yelling, their voices becoming faint with each footstep until they were gone. She didn't turn her head, but her breathing quickened as silence fell. Then the door opened, footsteps loud and closer before stopping. She did not turn her head, she wouldn't. She could hear breathing, whoever was there was close to her._

 _"Can you understand me?"_

 _His voice was rough, almost hot as fire and taunting. He spoke in a tongue she could not comprehend, her silence seemed to answer for her._

 _"You will in time, you probably won't remember what I'm going to say either, so I don't have to worry much about you translating me."_

 _Whoever it was moved around her, never in her field of vision, though._

 _"I'm sorry for what happened to your parents, but I couldn't let such gifted potential go to waste. You're a smart little girl, but civilian life, comfort? These things would tear that talent away from you. It needed to be honed, in the battlefeild, in suffering. What I did, what my men did, was necessary and will be your first step. You're going to be one hell of a soldier after I do one last thing. You must suffer even further, I took your parents, and now, I will take one last thing."_

 _She felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, her breath hitched, but she didn't move as the gloved hands rested on her shoulders. Gently, but almost predatory, hot breath touching the top of her head and her growing locks._

 _"I will take your tongue. Your words, your speech, your language. I will take it from you. You will be like me, forced to learn another tongue and your past life nothing more than a fleeting memory."_

 _The hands were removed from her shoulders as footsteps echoed to her right, stopping as a gloved hand appeared in her vision and curved to her left cheek. "My men told me before they carried out the task, they heard singing from your bedroom. They told me it was beautiful, yet sad, almost touching. So I must ask..."_

 _The hand forced her head to turn and her eyes rested on her speaker, never before in her life had she seen anything so monstrous, skin that looked like it would fall off at a moment's notice or clung to his voice so unnaturally. Lips removed and in a permanent shark-like smile, a predator ready to swallow her whole._

 _"Will you sing for me?"_

 _'I did not choose to be Quiet. My words, taken from me. My song, written in my tongue, forced to change into a tongue that I was not born with: into English. In the space, the absence of words, was the life I could have had...'_

 ** _Cyprus_**

 ** _When it all began..._**

 _Birds in the sky_

 _Carry these words for me._

 _Life tasted sweet,_

 _It let me live,_

 _It let me breathe._

 _Quiet had a face of determination with the lack of emotion, strangling her victim to death from behind. She had noticed the body of the nurse she had strangled when had came into the room looking for Big Boss, she could feel the life slowly leaving the doctor's body when he went limp, but Quiet tugged the wire once more hearing the sickening yet satisfying snap of the doctor's neck. The patient in the bed had already crawled to the floor, Quiet noticed that he was to incapacitated to escape from her. Before Quiet was able to deal with him she heard the call over the radio she immediately replied to the call._

 _"Not yet. The patient in the next bed saw my face..." She answered listening to the reply, "Of course. Consider it done."_

 _Love hurts so bad,_

 _But still saved my soul._

 _Flowers of a brighter past,_

 _They bloomed so free,_

 _Beneath the sun._

 _I did not choose to be quiet. All my life I always spoke when spoken to, never being able to socialize willingly. I never committed into a relationship, never had many friends. The only times when people hear my voice is when I sang. I love singing... It's the only way I was able to open my soul to the world, I've heard people praise my voice growing up in the Netherlands. How my life came to this point in time where I stood over the bodies of who save people for a living remains a mystery even to me. Sometimes I think back...and I have a memory...of a life I could have had, but it's so faint that it may as well be a dream. I thought on this even as I held the gun up to Snake's head seeing the fear in his only eye._

 _It's him... I found him!_

 _Oddly as it was, Big Boss doesn't feel fear... That's when another patient attacked me. I fought him off... then he threw a bottle of rubbing alcohol at me. The strong smell made my eyes water and some of it even made my eyes burn._

 _Memories,_

 _I want to give them to you,_

 _So you can see,_

 _What we left there._

 _Enough! I threw my knife at him, striking him in the shoulder. The bandaged man didn't even make a single sound, he only grabbed his shoulder and merely sat still giving me ample time to complete my mission. I stomped over to Big Boss determined to end this once and for all wrapping my slender gloved hand around his throat choking the life out of him._

 _I was getting close to completing the objective when I felt something hit my shoulder, I looked over seeing a lighter come across my view before..._

 _*Woosh!*_

 _Before I knew it, fire enveloped my uniform and hair. The skin of the left side of my face and arms burns as I try to pat it out, but the alcohol remained stained to my scorching skin. I screamed and bumped into everything as the pain intensified, falling down on all fours. He... He did this to me! Rage filled my being as I mirthlessly crawled across the floor to get to Big Boss when the patient who attacked me tried to throw my knife back at me. My quick reflexes caused me to deflect the blade with my hand. I stand to my feet as the fire begins to burn away, leaving me fuming with rage I suffer from 3rd-degree burns on my arms and face, my hair turning to ash. I was about to end him when... the pain. It got worse and worse, that bastard he...! NO! IT BURNS! NO! THE PAIN! I CAN'T TAKE IT! SALADIN HELP ME!_

 _Fire consumes Quiet's entire body as another bottle of rubbing alcohol was thrown against her shattering the glass causing its contents to fully erupt into flames on her body. Quiet's skin began melting off the bone, her eyes burning into a crisp, she felt her throat burn to nothing as the hot air filled her lungs collapsing them. It was the end of her, burned away into nothing like her past..._

 _...which was the first thought that entered Quiet's head as her eyes shot open, it was dark...but not night, it was just pitch black. She was pinned to a table from restraints, she fought against the restraints until she heard movement. Clank, clank, clank...the sound of shoes on metal as the monster walked into few: Skull Face. Quiet opened her mouth and found herself panicking, she tried to draw in air but she couldn't. It was as if her lungs stopped working, yet, she didn't feel like she was choking or dying. She opened her mouth again, trying to force words out...when Skull Face suddenly and slammed the palm of his hand on her mouth._

 _"I wouldn't do that if I were you..."_

 _Skull Face motioned his head to someone she couldn't see and a soft blue light came on in front of her, it was a set of X-rays...most likely on her body. What she saw rose that panic to almost a scream, in the x-rays of her chest there was something there...something large and bug like on her lungs. Skull Face kept his glove on her mouth, though, he looked back to her and leaned down to her._

 _"Don't speak, not a word of English, you must be absolutely quiet. If you are...then I will instruct you on how to take your revenge on the man who did this to you: Big Boss. But you cannot speak a word, just listen...if I feel you can't handle it or if you dare try to speak English to me...you will go back to death."_

 _Quiet looked at the horribly disfigured face of the monster before her, yet as she thought of the man she was going to kill and what that patient did to her she felt herself boil. She spoke many languages in her time at XOF, she had to abandon them as soon as she felt at home with them. Now she would adopt a new tongue: vengeance. She nodded and Skull Face, slowly as if she was going to double cross him, removed his hand from her lips. He began to explain everything...the parasite, his plan, Big Boss and the Diamond Dogs. With a plan to infiltrate the Diamond Dogs and infect them with the parasite, she knew it would mean her death, but she didn't care at this point. Her tongue with a dialect of vengeance and Skull Face knew the lingua franca well, he knew how to convince her. Armed with new knowledge, powers beyond imagination, and a thirst for revenge Quiet now found herself in Afghanistan a few months later. Starting with her powerful eyesight at a man on horseback, her target: Big Boss. She laid flat on her stomach and poised her sniper rifle at him._

 _I did not choose the name Quiet, it chose me._

 _She checked her sights, quickly gauging the wind speed, heat, and direction the bullet would have to travel with inhuman speed._

 _I spoke many words and tongues, but with XOF I found a language that will give me life._

 _She poised her finger on the trigger, squeezing it slightly as she took the man in her vision... and she pulled the trigger_

 _I choose the language of revenge._

 _When all hope bleeds out,_

 _What remains is doubt,_

 _Should have left it all for you for tomorrow._

 _As your time draws near,_

 _Will you live in fear?_

 _Could have left it all for you,_

 _But we let go._

* * *

 ** _Two weeks since Operation Biohazard._**

 ** _The Seychelles, Diamond Dogs' Mother Base_**  
 ** _Command Platform, First Deck_**

 ** _Nightfall..._**

Snake had a lot to think as he sat quietly in his ACC as always when Pequod was about to touch down on the helipad. Many thoughts clouded his mind along with forgotten memories, he thought about his purpose in Outer Heaven, his past, and even more than all that, Quiet. She has been in his life for over seven months and till now their relationship was progressing into the more intimate level. Snake wonders if she sees Big Boss or Adrian Zhdanov, he didn't know or even wondered if it ever even mattered. Venom Snake is a phantom, with no past, name, or face.

 _'You're own man.'_ Snake remembers Big Boss say, and maybe that was his point.

DD sat in the cabin and sensed his master's distress. The attack dog had climbed onto the seat and lied across Snake's lap. Snake smiled and patted DD's head, the chopper did a significant jolt as it touched down and Snake moved slide open the door. Alas was a rainy night, sometimes a sign of sorrow like all the sadness the Seychelles had sensed was washing down upon Mother Base. Snake was drenched in an instant, not worrying about a shower later. DD's ears lifted up when he heard a sudden commotion and took off running, barking. Snake was curious enough to follow the canine's trail peeking around the next corner seeing a handful of the staff surrounding a fight between two Diamond Dogs soldiers. They shoved and told each other off when eventually they began throwing fists and the crowd began cheering for a winner.

"Bring it on!" One of them taunted patting his own chest with his fist with pride.

His opponent was happy to oblige with a devastating right hook then a boot to the face sending him to the wet concrete. Snake watching shook his head in displeasure watching his own men fighting each other, even more so as to seeing one pull out a knife. Snake sprung into action grabbing the man's wrist and disarmed him of the knife before forcefully throwing him to the ground. When he was down Snake saw the glint of the other's blade seeing how the tables were turned. Before the staff member had the chance, Snake was already holding his wrist.

"Boss?!"

Snake continues to hold the staff member back with the rain pouring down on both of them when he glares into the eye sockets of the staff member's balaclava, "We don't draw weapons on comrades! Look around you, this is your family." Snake then pulls the knife to his chest touching the material of his fatigues before the blade penetrated through the skin. The soldier was stunned, horrified by what the boss made him do letting go of the knife and crawled away. The crowd fell dead silent, shocked.

"Show's over, get outta here!" The Combat Instructer's voice boomed through the soft pitter patter of the raindrops. Ocelot came up to Snake who was about to remove the knife from his shoulder, but Ocelot stopped him and took the hilt of the knife himself.

"Be gentle." Snake teases.

Ocelot smirks, "Of course." He pulled the knife free, barely taking a reaction from the boss. "These are bad for you, you know."

Snake looked at the knife before turning his attention to the two soldiers who had fought. They stood in attention, looking on edge and on the verge of tears by the looks of it. They knew they had screwed up, and they had forgotten the boss' teachings, being on Mother Base made everyone family and they had lost sight in that because of the war with nature.

"Morale has fallen."

Ocelot shakes his head as he glared angerly at the two, "No, they just need a mission. Orders to follow, you see someone stuck in the 'waiting room', you give em' a job to do." Ocelot points the knife at the two troublemakers, "You two! You just earned yourselves a week in the brig with deck cleaning duty by day." By then Snake's bionic hand rested on the instructor's shoulder.

"No, wait." Snake takes back the knife still fresh with his blood. "You've got some blood to pay me back for first." Snake could see the two soldiers shake in their boots at the thought of what their punishment might be, but Snake had other concerns besides punishment. "Your CQC is sloppy. Come see me later for a lesson you won't forget." Snake wipes the blood from the blade on his pants before holding it out for the staff member to take back. The Staff member took back his knife and sheathed it, both men saluted their leader before dismissing themselves.

"Well." Ocelot chuckles. "Morale taken care of."

Snake chuckles and bobs his head, he rubs his shoulder as he walks to his private quarters, where Quiet was staying. As soon as he walked in he saw her putting back on her top touching the clasp together. Her body was still soaked from the pouring rain she was enjoying herself in, she turned to the boss with a smile, but she noticed the wound in his shoulder. She walked up to him placing her hand over the deep cut with concern in her green eyes.

"I'm fine." Snake mumbled, pulling her hand away. Snake removed his equipment belt and rigs, the initial pain stung each time he removed a strap from his shoulder. He felt Quiet's gentle touch on his shoulder allowing her to remove the rest for him. She removed his brassards, his radio, the shirt of his fatigues as gentle as she could be because of the wound in his shoulder. Snake hissed occasionally not only from the small knife wound but from the never ending phantom pain and sore muscles, feeling Big Boss' age now, the simple thought made him laugh a little despite being born in 1949 instead of 1932. Eventually, the reason besides visiting Quiet was for the steam shower he was instantly attached too. Snake was brave enough to take off his undershirt biting back the pain and exposing his scarred body for the world to see, not caring about another being added to his collection. He removed the bandana and set it carefully on the table before running a hand through his growing platinum blonde hair, not a dyed brown strand in sight. Quiet took Snake's right hand and lured him to the bed and sat him down on the soft mattress. Quiet came back with a medkit and began applying some rubbing alcohol to a bandage before taping it to Snake's shoulder.

Quiet's hand lingered for a moment long enough for Snake to place his over hers.

"Thanks." He whispers, eventually meeting her gaze.

Her smile, it really was something Snake enjoyed seeing from time to time aside from the eye candy that was her own body. Nevertheless, fathom on why she couldn't smile or talk after all these years and that she could finally learn how to be her old self again if she could find it. Quiet cupped his cheek and she slowly dragged the pad of her thumb across his lips, just thinking how well they would feel against hers. The next thing she knew was her face leaning closer, and Snake didn't pull back he didn't even move or flinch an inch. The space between them was warm and inviting as it drew close and Quiet closed her eyes until her lips were pressed against the soft skin of his. It was merely a quick peck as she drew back and Snake's face remained stern, expressionless. It only made her go in and kiss him once more before pulling back and again Snake didn't move.

Quiet could hardly remember how kissing felt and she began to wonder if Snake had felt the same. Snake was the first in many years she had wanted to kiss and after all that time, it was indeed strange. Quiet looked back up at the boss before standing up, but she cupped his face anyway and stroked his cheekbones with her thumbs, "I-" She paused before shaking away her reluctance, Snake looked up into her eyes with curiosity.

Her eyes welled before small droplets of tears fell down her cheeks. Quiet crashed her lips onto his, kissing him feverishly. Snake gave in and began kissing her back, lips gliding against one another before their mouth opened and drew to a close. Quiet straddled Snake with her arms around his neck not wanting it to end. Snake lifted her up before setting her down on the bed with her head resting on the soft pillow with him hovering over her. Quiet's creamy legs spread out for her to cradle him in between and she wrapped them around Snake's waist, her hands running up from his abs and to his chest feeling the strong muscles. Snake rubbed the soft skin of her thigh as he leaned down to capture her lips once more. Quiet's tongue brush against Snake's lips causing him to open slightly and her tongue brushed against his. Snake moved from her mouth to her neck. Quiet moaned with pleasure from the blissful torture and a warmth enveloped her lower half.

Snake continued to kiss her neck before he winced when his left arm erupted into agonizing pain. He crawled off her sitting at the foot of the bed holding the bionic arm grunting from the searing phantom pain being shot through the phantom limb. Quiet noticed his distress and crawled over to him hugging his shoulders from behind.

"Sorry, keep forgetting to take my meds." Snake stood, "I need some air."

Snake left the private quarters, Quiet was left alone hoping he would return, but she was only hoping too much. For the first time, she dismayed the absence but the warm feeling of his lips on hers was still there enough for her to smile and ending up dreaming about it the rest of the endless night.


	7. Chapter 7

**_WARNING! This contains Spoilers!_**

 ** _DISCLAIMER: The Metal Gear Franchise are all owned by Hideo Kojima!_**

 ** _P.S: Fuck Konami!_**

 **Metal Gear Solid V:** **The Phantom Pain** **  
** **The Lost Episodes**

Chapter 7  
"Voices"

 _ **Five weeks since Operation Biohazard  
**_ _ **The Seychelles, Diamond Dogs' Mother Base**_

 _ **Midday...**_

On a typical rainy day on the Diamond Dogs Mother Base when the soft pitter patter of rain drops hit the concrete decks and blanket the orange steel exterior of the struts, the waves of the ocean lapping against the strut legs followed by the soothing fresh sea breeze that made every staff member on patrol want to remove their balaclava's just to feel the soothing water upon their skin to help them make it through the day. Since Operation Biohazard The Diamond Dogs PMC had strengthened in numbers, each new recruit submitted in grueling training by both Ocelot and Miller, and a rainy day was a good day. These new men and women were nobodies before they stepped onto Outer Heaven, they were runaways, orphans or war orphans, addicts to either war, the bottle, a syringe or just plain killing. Others were either criminal, war criminals, or delinquents on parole. People whom neither deserved to go to heaven or just plain stubborn to go to hell, there was only one place left for them to go, a realm, where there is no room for angels.

 ** _Command Platform, First Deck, Command Tower_**

Commander Miller paced around the table with his usual limp, the phantom pain still fresh in his arm and leg. Ocelot and Snake were present looking over the maps marked with seven quarantined zones, three in Afghanistan and four in Africa; where it all began. Snake scratched at his five o'clock shadow, small whiskers poking into the pads of his fingers noticing he forgot to shave again. Ocelot spun one of his Tornado-6's while his blue eyes remained focused on the maps and gave a small report on the men's morale. They're doing their jobs, but still on edge hoping the final push won't push them into the heartless sea.

"The remaining Soviet forces in the Afghan regions have torn themselves from the outbreak while the rest turned slave to Eli's new biological weapon." Miller briefed, "Eli wasn't kidding anymore Boss, he's a _man_ now and he has officially declared war on Big Boss." Miller stated as he made his final pace then set down his crutch.

"How's that new prosthetic working out for you?" Ocelot asked, holstering his sidearm.

Kaz let out a heavy sigh as he practiced on getting around without the help of his crutch. Miller always refused to wear a prosthetic or a state of the art bionics, but he instead went through with using a simple prosthetic leg.

"I'll live, for now, I must show more initiative. The men need more training, we need to be ready."

Snake watched as Miller strolled around with some effort and smirked a bit.

"Thought your drill instructing days were over, figured you'd be sticking with the desk job." Snake reminded.

"Hmph! Seems only like yesterday I was the one barking orders at you." Miller said removing his beret letting his untrimmed blonde locks fall loose.

Ocelot stepped in and patted Miller's shoulder.

"I could always use some help out there on the training grounds." Ocelot said.

"Fine by me." Kaz shrugged off his coat and loosened his tie.

"Just need to get out of this fucking suit, making me feel like an old man."

"We are old, Kaz." Snake said.

"I'll start being old when I retire, but right now we have work to do."

Kaz removed his suit jacket and shirt until all that was left was his olive drab muscle shirt. Snake helped Miller pull his lengthy blonde hair into a ponytail.

"And then?" Ocelot asked.

"I don't know, hear Alaska's nice." Miller noted, adjusting his aviators while circling the table. "Now then, as we're bringing in more recruits we need to train them. However, Ocelot and I won't be enough so we're gonna have to rely on some of our senior staff for the rest."

"How's recruitment going these days?" Snake asked.

"Just broke MSF's record, Diamond Dogs is now over 600 strong and counting, our naval and air force is growing as well. I've also put in a request for building a new Forward Operating Base to increase housing for these new recruits as well as well as ship yards and off shore hangers for our jets and fleets. Give the order from your iDroid."

"Just how many bases are running, exactly?"

"Four for now with little room left, it's why need to build a fifth maybe more. Just give the order."

Snake pulled out his iDroid.

"What about child soldiers?" Snake asked.

"Most of the children were sent to orphanages in Central Africa and away from the zones, some were even given asylum in the US and the UK, others refused to leave and those are the ones who rather keep fighting than going to a nice home." Ocelot explained leaning forward on the table lacing his fingers. "Being a soldier is all they have ever known so they stayed."

Miller nodded in agreement with Ocelot and pulled out a file and sat it in front of Snake for him to see, detailed information on the children staying on the base.

"70 kids chose to stay on the base, but we can't send them back home into the war zones no matter how much they want to. We decided to start a military school program for veteran kids. They'll get the training they're accustomed to, but they'll also get the proper education and care they deserve. Until they are old enough to make their own decisions they either join us at Diamond Dogs or go their own way."

"Hmm, First hounds now children?" Snake murmured.

"Speaking of hounds our new Attack Dog regiment is going smoothly, we're currently raising 50 pups and are ready for training." Ocelot reminded.

"Let me guess, DD is responsible for them all?"

"We got our hands on a good breeding hound, so yes DD is one proud alpha."

"Raising DD kinda rubbed off on ya, did it?" Snake chuckled.

"I guess you could say that I only train the best after all." Ocelot smirked with his own pride.

Snake placed the phantom cigar in his mouth as he looked out of the windows to the outside. Rain still ran in long lines across the glass and were fogged up from the temperature, but still didn't prevent Snake seeing a recognizable figure dancing in tune of each raindrop out on the deck. Quiet had her arms out as she spun and smiled when the rain drenched her half naked body, seeing how each drop of water ran down her chest passed her cleavage, her taut belly, passed her creamy thighs. Quiet lied down flat on her back in some light puddles of water, the softest smile on her face as she enjoyed herself with her eyes closed and in pure relaxing sensation. The boss eyed her for a few more moments before so suddenly tearing his eye from the sight as he proceeded to activate his cigar with his iDroid.

Miller bowed his head as he prepared for the next analysis.

"As far as the yellow cake uranium we've recovered from the Hell Hounds goes, we've stored all the components for a Nuclear Bomb on the R&D platform along with the remnants of Sahelanthropus for safe keeping. The lab boys are strictly ordered to not even go near it without your direct approval."

"Boss if we go through making a bomb, we can definitely be a Nuclear Deterrent. Every PF will think twice about attacking us especially Eli, if he learns about this weapon it'll probably take some of the heat off Mother Base and her FOBs." Ocelot added.

"But if you're against it then we'll have the uranium stored in cubic feet of concrete and steel then dumped into the sea, no questions asked. But Boss, it may be a mistake to give up this asset."

Snake grimaced at his phantom cigar before he replaced in into his pocket. His bionic hand rubbed his temple at the never ending ache of memories of having nuclear weapons on base, the words ZEKE and Paz kept repeating through his head like a mantra before he turned to face his left and right hands. A soft sigh followed by an incoherent grumble and a scratch of his five o'clock shadow was all it took for him to nod his approval.

"Fine..." He said.

Miller's head peaked up, "Boss?"

Snake turned his back and headed for the door. "Take precautions this stays secret from the UN, this stays between us and the lab boys."

"You got it, boss." Miller says softly.

"But after this, we're done. No more nukes, no more bipedal weapons. There's no room for it in our heaven anymore." Snake decreed before departing.

Ocelot later reminded him over the radio that the Diamond Dogs were hired to stop insurrection in the Iraqi Kurdistan. Deep in the mountains of the Iraqi Kurdistan, a six-year-long civil war had increased foretold in the shining light of Eli's biological attacks. With no help from the political seats of law and order, a totalitarian Iraqi regime gripped a firm hold over the rural wilderness and villages. The harsh upbringings of the civilians were caught in the crossfires of constant battle. Hunted each day and forced to abandon their homes and left little hope they had behind with it, as well as their livelihoods. It only took the people to look to the skies to see the shining light of the Diamond Dogs' insignia on the choppers that flew overhead, armed soldiers repelling to the surface of the Civil War and raining down a full counter assault on the Iraqi execution squads.

* * *

 ** _9 Hours Later_**

 ** _Iraqi Kurdistan..._**

 _'I was born on a battlefield.'_

A little girl huddled into the darkest corner of a ruined hut, bringing her knees to her chest while hugging her homemade ragdoll with a likeness of a wolf that her mother had made for her tight, trembling with violent but quiet sobs. Angered shouting of the Iraqi soldiers behind the walls terrified her to the core, hearing the screams of innocent people being executed, each gunshot making her jump an inch. The only thing the girl was able to do was pray, and most of all wishing that her mommy was there to protect her. But she was dead, all dead because of the civil war she was born in, raised in. Her short, messy, and dirty blonde hair clung to her forehead as panicked sweats peppered the skin gluing each lock to it. Hot salty tears poured down her cheeks causing them to rash and flare with agonizing irritation like wild scorpions stinging her tiny face. She then heard the door being kicked open, pieces of wood flying across the room as an Iraqi soldier rushed in with his weapon in hand, scanning the room with his evil eyes like a hawk finding it's prey.

 _'Raised on a battlefield. Gunfire, sirens, and screams... they were my lullabies.'_

The girl crawled under a bed, laying flat on her side curled up into a ball while trying to muffle her sobs with her wolf doll. She watched the soldier's boots thump loudly against the wooden floor, pacing the hut. She began to panic as the boots drew closer to the bed as the soldier stood right over it.

 _'Hunted like dogs day after day, driven from our ragged shelters... that was my life. Each morning I'd wake up and find a few more of my family or friends dead beside me. I'd stare at the morning sun and pray to make it through the day. The governments of the world turned a blind eye to our misery._ _But then... he appeared...'_

Suddenly before the soldier kneeled down to look beneath the bed which drove more fear into the little girl's heart, a second pair of boots entered the hut and trotted closely and silently behind the Iraqi soldier. A grunt of pain and struggling at the sight of the soldier's legs thrashing then came the sound of blood spilling to the floor at the soldier's feet. The soldier fell dead onto the wooden floor, his pale eyes wide as if he stared his worse fear in the face, a deep cut ran right across his neck on the jugular nearly from ear to ear. A wolf entered the hut behind the intruder and spotted the terrified little girl, alerting his master with a happy bark and a point of his snout.

 _...my hero..._

The intruder tipped the bed over looking down at her with his only eye as the other was covered by an eyepatch.

 _...Saladin._

The little girl was even more terrified, but he killed that bad man. His dog had walked over to her and she began to calm herself when she felt the dog's kisses licking away her tear ridden cheeks. The attack dog sat and panted at the child causing her to sit up and she reluctantly pet her most favorite animal in the world. The man had leaned down near the child and he held out his metallic hand for the girl to take. Her tiny hand slowly reached up and took it feeling the cold nimble surface of his metal fingers, the man reached down and took her into his embrace. The girl felt safe as she held onto him, laying her head on his strong shoulder as he held her with the crook of his right arm walking from the hut. The child saw more of the bad men on their knees with their hands on their heads surrounded by armed soldiers bearing the same insignia on their brassards, The Diamond Dogs.

The name alone made her cobalt eyes sparkle with astonishment underneath the midday sun. For once the child cried not only because she was sad, but because her prayers were finally answered. Clutching onto her doll her tiny eyes began to flutter close as exhaustion fell upon her shoulders, the only thing she could remember before she slept that day was when her savior climbed into a chopper, laying her on the seats. A woman came over the emerald hues of her eyes peered down at her with a gentle smile as she draped a coat over her. Her savior jumped from the chopper, but the woman and his canine companion stayed behind. Before the chopper took off the one-eyed man had looked back at the child and gave her a slight nod of his head.

The little girl could feel herself losing a battle with sleep, and before her eyes closed the last thing she saw was a sniper rifle hanging near the door. Clenching her fist tight she swore revenge as a fire lay burning in her tiny heart.

* * *

Back on the ground, Snake continued his mission by recovering the objective being held at gunpoint by his men. Every insurgent was on the ground face down with their hands behind their backs and each Diamond Dog kept close watch on all of them as Snake paced the line of captured enemy soldiers. Looking at the VI of the target, Snake managed to confirm the identity of the captain and signaled one of his men to bring him to his knees. The Captain started spitting out curse words in his native tongue to which he earned a stern _"Shut up!"_ from one of Snake's men. Snake knelt down to The Captian's level and removed a photograph from his pack and held it up for the man to see.

"You recognize this kid?" Snake asks, and The Captain remained silent. "Nothing, huh?" Snake stood up once more, looking to his right at a Diamond Dog soldier. "Bring him to Ocelot, give him a ' _ride'_.

The soldier smirked from behind his balaclava as he pulled out a Fulton Recovery pack and attached it to The Captain's belt before the balloon inflated and the soldier gave a mocking salute, "Enjoy the ride!" He shouts before The Captain was hoisted up into the air screaming as far as his throat would take him.

Snake ordered for the dead to be buried civilians to be buried and the insurgents to be taken elsewhere and executed. As base camp was being set up for rallying more civilians for safe zones and pushing back the regime, Snake began a conference call with Miller and Ocelot as The Captain arrived back on Mother Base. The Captain managed to spill everything and had confirmed of seeing Eli before. Ocelot also said that The Captain was more afraid of Eli than the interrogation and for good reason, Eli apparently threatened him with unleashing the disease on his country if he didn't cooperate into opposing Big Boss' own _regime._ After careful evaluation, Snake agreed for the Captain to be handed over to the Iraqi authorities for his atrocities and they were paid for their services, however, since Eli was involved with this insurrection, Snake remained in Kurdistan to help civilians and provide a temporary asylum before the Iraqi government would take action with some persuasion.

 _"Boss about that girl you brought back, she isn't a child soldier but we can give her some care and look into some orphanages. Quiet has seemed to take a likeness in her as well, and took her to her little 'den' on the command platform."_ Ocelot briefed.

"Make sure she fed and watered, Quiet will take care of her in the meantime." Snake acknowledges.

" _Boss!_ " A Diamond Dog called jogging towards him before giving his leader a salute. "Intel Team just faxed us this." He said showing the VI on his iDroid. "The Captain's intel was correct, Eli was spotted about 50 kilometers due East of here in the village of Kalak."

Snake nodded to the soldier and signaled for a chopper and an assembled team to investigate. The Intel Team had also briefed that the village of Kalak was presumably deserted as the result of the recent sat images, probably because of Eli's Insurgency. Snake and a total of five men boarded a chopper, departing for the village, along the way Miller had updated Snake about the development of their nuclear weapon. The R&D team had begun construction of the "uranium bullet" as the main component for the detonation device upon ready for deployment, the news didn't bring Snake any pleasure as he didn't want a nuke in the first place. Snake only kept silent and Miller didn't persist any further as Snake and his team was headed closer to their objective.

By the time the chopper landed it was already nightfall, and the heat of the Kurdistan regions had died down to a small chill once the sun had set over the horizon. Snake positioned the scarf over his nose and mouth as the chopper's router blades had stirred the sandy road from once it landed on, he and his men remained crouched with weapons armed and at the ready in case of attack. Once the chopper had taken off, Snake had his Int-Scope out to survey the area around them and the directional microphone had picked up nothing smaller than a mouse, it was dead quiet. Snake hand signaled for his squad to move out and investigate the village, however, before entering the smell had hit all of them. The smell of decomposition had invaded each of their nostrils, enough to make the average human vomit.

"Fall in!" Snake motioned, "Masks out!"

Everyone placed on their tactical breathers and the smell was evaded thanks to the filtration. After the stench had cleared the Diamond Dogs entered the main road into the village. The power was still on giving the Diamond Dogs plentiful light around them and could see that the village was nothing more than a ghost town, the decomposition could have meant that most of the populace had been dead for days since Eli's arrival five days earlier.

" _Got a body over here, boss!_ " A Diamond Dog called. Snake came over to the soldier kneeling over a dead body already swarming with flies, however, the body was also riddled with dead ones all around the cadaver. Before he knew it, Snake's bio-detector on his Bionic arm had suddenly emitted a clicking sound of a radiation scanner.

Snake pulled the soldier from the scene and stood a couple of feet back, "Fall in, tight formation!" He barked and his team huddled close together aiming their weapons in all directions, "We got radiation exposure, minimum level contamination." He briefed before touching his earphone. "Kaz the village has been irradiated, heavy civilian casualties from radiation poisoning."

" _Christ, what the hell happened there?"_ Miller's voice gasped with shock.

"I don't know yet, alert the hazmat team get them here ASAP."

" _Roger!_ "

Snake turned to his team, "Set up a perimeter, no one gets in or out!" He ordered.

" _Yessir!_ "

Snake stood behind as his men got to a safe distance and decided to move deeper into the village while keeping an eye on his radiation meter and keeping himself at a minimal contamination risk. He suddenly stopped when he started to smell a sweet scent through his mask and his expression turned grim at an instant, then he could see the dead ravens as a result of radiation poisoning.

"Kaz, we may have a bigger problem. We may have a possible Vocal Cords Parasite infection."

" _Goddamnit, Eli!_ " Miller cursed over the radio, " _It's a trap!_ "

"Hold on!" Snake calmed, "Somethings not right this time..." He says, removing his thermal goggles from his pack and placed them over his eyes. Once more dead came into view, they had shown no symptoms.

" _No symptoms? How's that possible? English is a common language in Kurdistan._ " said Miller.

"Eli must have tried to recreate the mutation like the Hell Hounds, it failed somehow."

 _"Boss, I advise against going further into the village, not until we find the source of the radiation."_ Ocelot cut in.

A clattering sound had erupted in one of the houses to Snake's right, almost as if a wooden chair was knocked over. Snake had wondered if there was a survivor nearby taking shelter from the radiation, however, whoever it was must be extremely lucky to survive five days of radiation exposure even in such low exposure. His radiation scanner clicked less and less as he walked closer to the house as if it was the only safe place left in the village that wasn't contaminated by the radiation yet. Snake carefully opened the door slowly and quietly, the house was dark and he switched on his flashlight. The beam of light cut through the darkness and small dust particles danced through the air as he made his way further into the house.

A faint sound of a small voice emitting sobs was coming from the small corner on the other side of the kitchen. Snake aimed his rifle slowly walking around the small wooden table and the light had enveloped a small African boy Snake had recognized as one of Eli's boys. The boy curled with fear, sobbing more and more as if he unlocked his inner child instead of being the soldier he was trained to be. Snake had replaced the Thermal Goggles and can see a small glow in the boy's throat, a larynx infected with the English strain of the parasites. However, the boy wasn't showing symptoms and Snake began to understand what happened to the Village and why Eli's attempt into infecting the populace had failed.

Like Quiet, the boy had refused to speak. Once he saw Snake approach him he only peered up at the man with wide hopeful eyes that only caused Snake to suddenly gag the boy and hoisted him over his shoulders. The boy didn't struggle once Snake sprinted from the house and towards the perimeter through the minimal radiation exposure. Once Snake cleared the perimeter he was met by a blinding light of multiple headlights, his men were lined up on their knees with their hands above their heads. Enemy soldiers bearing the insignia of Cipher's strike force XOF aimed their weapons at Venom Snake carrying the infected child.

"I believe you have something that belongs to me, Big Boss." A man said with a thick Russian accent, XOF soldiers made way for a battle dressed CO in a long leather trenchcoat, his beret flashing the XOF symbol, and in his hand was a single cigar. "Maybe we could issue a fair trade, da?" He said pointing to Snake's captured men.

"Don't do it, boss!" A Diamond Dog soldier shouted before getting smacked across the face with a rifle butt.

Snake clenched his fist and found himself surrounded by more XOF soldiers aiming their weapons at him, forcing him to comply into setting down the child and allowed an XOF soldier to take the boy and lead him elsewhere looking back at Snake with terrified and pleading eyes.

"Wise choice." Said the XOF commander.

"Just who are you?" Snake asked.

"Commander Anatoly Vladimir Vyacheslav, a pleasure as always." Vyacheslav bowed. "I've heard all about you, of course, Big Boss. Skull Face was very _peculiar_ on the subject. I became his protege at a young age, grew to look up to him as a parental figure."

"Interesting choice of role model." Snake quipped.

Vyacheslav merely shrugged his shoulders, "He was ambitious that was true, but it was his lust for revenge that was his downfall. I, however, will not make the same mistakes." By then a chopper had hovered overhead and proceeded to land near their location. Vyacheslav gave a witty smirk, "Farewell, Big Boss. We shall meet again I'm sure."

When Vyacheslav began to walk away, the XOF kept their sights on the Diamond Dogs. One of Snake's men looked up to him with trained and determined eyes like the rest.

"Loyal to the end, right boss?" He asked.

Snake gave an empathic sense of pride in his men as he gave a firm nod.

"WE ARE DIAMOND DOGS!" His men shouted in unison and jumped up surprising the XOF, using CQC to disarm and toss the enemy to the ground and provide fire support while Snake sprinted towards Vyacheslav's chopper that was about to take off.

Snake looked back and already one of his men was gunned down while the rest protected their leader, their loyalty was like a fuel to his flames causing his legs to sprint faster and faster. The chopper was already in the air when Snake opened fire, shooting at the rear router causing it to sputter. However, the chopper still managed to get away but Snake knew that it wouldn't get far. The gunfire coming from behind him had ceased, causing Snake to sprint back towards the village seeing most of the XOF vehicles speeding away from the scene. Dead XOF soldiers littered the dirt along with spent shell casings and his squad also lied dead at his feet, however, there was one that was still breathing but was mortally wounded by a gunshot to his gut.

"B-Boss..." The soldier gasped.

"Don't talk, save your strength."

"It's alright, Boss. I'm proud to die under your command..." He began to cough and his breath was drawing near to an end as life began to leave him, "You gave me purpose in life, t-this is t-the on-only way I-I was able to ret-return the... favor." he gasped out before his head fell to the dirt, dead.

Snake reached down to close the soldier's eyes and strip the Diamond Dogs patch from his fatigues carrying a small shining diamond beneath the logo.

"You're all Diamonds." He whispers solemnly.


End file.
